LovelyComplex

~ Welcome to Sanctuary ~

_{TIMESTAMP: Extremely early in the morning
LOCATION: The Serrano Ranch
INTRODUCING: The Serrano Family}

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Up at 3 AM, Estella quietly tiptoed throughout the Serrano Estate, main lodging for her and her family. For the history nerds, this home was built by José Luis Serrano in the 1800s, before the Mexican-American war, and would be considered a historical landmark in Sanctuary. Over the years, it has gone through renovations and restorations, seeing how preserving an old home is not an easy task. Estella's great, great grandpa, Julio, built the guest house, which is now used as lodging for their live-in staff. This was solely to finish the Serrano multigenerational project, as well as to keep his family safe throughout the process. She’s pretty sure some of the issues this house had led to a few of her ancestors dying.

An old home can have hidden troubles but even with how expensive this endeavor was, the Serranos were willing to put all their blood, sweat and heart into fixing this treasure and keeping the integrity, character and history well and alive. Even if this house isn’t the same house it once was, there are still areas within it, like the tiles in the kitchen, the refurbished furniture and the once upon a time rusty door knocker, that comes from a time long ago.

Estella loved her home and she showed her appreciation by keeping it in tip-top shape and filling it with good memories. She didn’t want to disappoint her ancestors and make them feel all their hard work went to waste. The first thing she did was visit her family’s ofrenda. Due to the amount of deceased they had, there was no point in breaking down the altar after Día de Muertos just to rebuild it the following year. She didn’t mind and it gave her a place to kneel and pray. Once she paid her respect to her family, she made her way to the kitchen to prepare everyone’s lunches.

Today was a special day. Today was Araceli and Yessenia’s birthday! They were twenty three. She couldn’t believe it. Both were growing into beautiful young ladies and she loved being part of their growth, their happiness, and their life. As her first gift, she would do the house chores they were tasked with. First the dishes then to get the clothes off the drying rack outside. Her father hadn’t bought a new dryer machine, seeing how it broke two months ago, so instead of going to the laundromat, Estella encouraged her siblings to just use the drying rack they rarely use. Well, now it had use.

Once lunch and a handful of house chores were done, and an easy, hearty breakfast was made, she got ready for her day. Having already taken a shower the night before, Stella went back to her room to change into a faded blue shirt and cargo pants, making sure to put her wrist watch on since she rarely takes her phone out while working on the ranch. Her work boots were on the porch, seeing how she’s gone through several and there was no way she would bring that dirt, mud, and whatever else, into the house. When she exited her room, she heard the front door open and close. She rushed downstairs to swing the door open. By the time she was on the porch, her father was already nearing the stable. “Buenos dias papi! I’ll see you soon!” She energetically yelled, watching her father with admiration.

“Buenos días mi estrella. Be nice to your siblings.” Javier smiled at his eldest child, giving her a little nod, knowing exactly what time it was, before disappearing into the stables. Her dad had a long day ahead of him. He always did.

With her morning routine almost complete, Estella connected her phone to the in ceiling bluetooth audio system. In a matter of seconds, she played the twins’ fiesta playlist. Ella Me Levanto by Daddy Yankee transmitted to the 5 channels within the house. This meant the whole estate was filled with loud music. To add extra incentive to get all her siblings out of bed, she cranked the volume up and started dancing and swaying up the stairs.

First stop, Miguel.

Drumming on his door fast, warning him of her entry, she quoted Fairly Odd Parents, "I'm respecting your privacy by knocking but asserting my authority as your older sister by coming in anyway!" She flung the door open and made her way to the curtains to bring in the day. Miguel shook awake, still not getting used to this after years of experiencing Estella’s energy. Drool ran down his mouth as he wiped the sleep off his face. She grinned at her little brother, giggling in amusement, before salsaing her way outside to the next room.

For Francisco, she took a pin out of her pant’s pocket and as if she’s done this many times before, she unlocked her brother’s room. She raised an eyebrow as she noticed a new sight. He was wearing sound canceling headphones. Cute. Just like she did in Miguel’s room, she brought light inside. She knew he wasn’t sleeping. Cisco suffered with insomnia so she knew he knew she was there. Grinning mischievously, she grabbed his accordion and started attempting to play it, poorly. She whirled and twirled around his room and just like that, when she turned back to face him, he was standing in front of her, grumpy. She gave the musician his instrument and she mouthed, seeing how he was still wearing his headphones, “Good morninggggg.” She was rewarded with an eye roll.

Once she was out of his room, she walked past Hector’s, already hearing him shuffle around downstairs. The front door opened and closed. She checked her wrist watch and right on schedule, 5:30 AM, her brother was going for his morning jog. Lastly, the twins shared room, which was two rooms joined together since they requested to connect their rooms. To her surprise, the door was not closed. Both Araceli and Yessenia were ready for work, dressed in overalls and with a gentle amount of makeup on. The faster they got their ranch chores done, the sooner they could go back home, shower, dress pretty and leave to have fun.

The twins widely smiled at their older sister and joined her dancing around their room to their playlist. Out of the three girls, Araceli was the one with the fluid movements, as if dancing was in her spirit. She screamed over the music, before her sister got a chance to say happy birthday, “I’M SO EXCITED! TODAY’S THE FESTIVAL!”

Yessenia chimed in, but didn’t shout, “And our birthday.”

“AND OUR BIRTHDAY!” Celi gleefully shouted, as she shimmied with Estella, all giddy on the inside. She was ready to make today her bitch. It was her birthday and she deserved to shine. And with that, the whole Serrano household was ready to start their day. They had a busy next few hours ahead of them, which included preparing the petting zoo and apple stand by 2 PM. That didn’t include the Date Auction Araceli was throwing for the community after 7 PM.

All the Serranos were up.

At the crack of dawn.

Good morning, Sanctuary.

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_{LOCATION: The Festival
INTERACTING WITH: Levi ^{@The Muse}}

Hours had passed and the Serrano kids were showered, dressed to impress and taking turns at the petting zoo and the apple stand. They were fortunate their dad instructed a couple of his employees to help out so his children could have some downtime to enjoy the festival. Estella was running the petting zoo, making sure the animals and children played nice, when Hector came back from playing the basketball game. He was carrying a large baby sloth plushie. He didn’t have a girlfriend so he was likely just going to give the giant sloth to the twins. They loved collecting an unnecessary amount of plushies. They couldn't help themselves when they saw cute things.

Being freed from her duties, Estella graciously pulled her brother into a hug before skipping off. She wore a traditional floral embroidered blue dress with a lace trim off the shoulder. If there was one thing that this town knew about the Serrano girls it was that when they weren’t off doing work, they were wearing dresses, and more often than not they were on the traditional side. Especially for events like festivals. They were a family that took pride in their culture and if they could show off in any way, they would because that was what it meant to be proud of who you were.

Both the twins wanted to stand out, obviously. It was their birthday. Yessenia wore a halter dress with artisanal embroidery and Araceli chose an off the shoulder party dress with red flowers as the focal point. A hot color for a hot girl. Estella had no idea where they were but she was sure wherever they chose to flaunt their beauty, there were many eyes on them. The Serrano twins liked standing out and getting compliments. It made them feel important.

With some free time on her hands, Estella had one thing on her mind. That was: how else can she make their birthday spectacular? Truth be told, she was having doubts about the gifts she bought them which were wrapped up and under her bed. She was going to give it to them when they all got back home but after hearing all the things they hoped they were getting throughout their work day, Estella was internally freaking out. As the older sister, she couldn’t disappoint them. She’d hate giving them something they never asked for.

Internally panicking, she searched for a place to sit and think. With a few hours before the town got really lively, Stella hoped she had enough time to change gears and get a new gift. Amidst the chaos in her mind, her amber eyes fell on a face she hadn’t seen for a couple days now, having not visited the cafe due to other obligations. With a bounce in her step, she strolled to the boy before calling out, “Yoohooooo! Levi!” She vigorously waved. It wasn’t long till she found herself by his picnic table, she quickly asked, “How’s it goingggg? Are you having funnnn?”

~ Welcome to Sanctuary ~

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Edenridge

_{TIMESTAMP: Morning time
Introducing: Gabriel Darling and his Darling Twins
FT: Miss Belmonte and her babies}

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Joy Darling, the daughter of Gabriel Darling and Naomi Nesta, was standing at the entrance of her new family home, with a neon green duffel bag hanging over her shoulder watching in complete bewilderment as her father’s girlfriend and her daughters, Sofia and Daniella, were sliding on the wood floor and dancing to Straight Up by Paula Abdul. The VAL system had cued Miss Belmonte’s dance playlist and now was resounding out of the bluetooth speakers that were set up on the kitchen island.

Joy and her brother, Abel, were still getting used to the Belmonte family, which were, in their opinion, or her’s since she couldn’t speak for her twin brother, chaotic and crazy, especially in comparison to their Nesta side. Nestas were cool and collected. Stern and fiercely loyal. Only loose when they drank too much. There were instances when Grandma Nesta was made mad. Those times showed a Nesta could become straight up scary. She knew how to put the fear of God in someone, even worse than they’re unhinged Grandma Temperance Darling.

A dinner with all of Miss Belmonte’s siblings and Tiziano Belmonte was a lot to process and usually had a lot of screaming, but Joy could tell it was out of love. It was vastly different from a dinner with her whole Darling family, where it seemed a lot was left unsaid and it was routinely traditional. Prayer. Small talk. Papa Jacob gives updates on the farm or sees what his children got going on. Grandma Tempy probes and tries to find out information on her children’s love lives, inquiring who’s going to have kids next. Once they have their three course meals, her grandparents dismiss themselves to read their bibles and the rest of them enjoy a few drinks before dispersing. Well, not her and her brother, since they were not yet twenty one, unless Uncle Elijah sneaks them a little something and says ‘don’t tell your father’.

Hesitant, Joy didn’t know if she should stay or go inside, thinking about whether or not her mother would be okay with her father moving on and getting back with an old flame. Buying a house together too. She was happy for her father, of course, and her mother didn’t seem too bothered but still, she didn’t know how she should feel about it. Most of them weren’t even children anymore, Franco Belmonte being the only one required to stay in the nest since the rest of them were in college. Speaking of Franco, he was on camera duty, capturing this moment in film so his mother could post the milestone on her socials.

Was it selfish of her to be unsure of all this? She loved both her parents dearly, but change was always weird for her and this was the biggest change she’s experienced ever before. From Pinehurst to Edenridge, her father started his own practice away from her mother and built a life with another woman, who had her own little family. Cat and her kids went about life unburdened by worry and absolutely carefree. Or maybe that was just how she perceived it. She didn’t know Miss Belmonte’s story nor did she know her future siblings well enough either. They were all unbelievably friendly and accepting, and here she was stuck at the doorway, overthinking taking a step forward. Joy wasn’t one to dance through life, not like her father’s new family.

“It’s all good, Joy.” From behind his sister, Abel placed his hands on her shoulders and pressed his forehead to the back of hers, connecting them as he had done for years and years when the younger twin got that look on her face, that look of uncertainty and trepidation. “They’re harmless white folk, they ain’t gonna be no problem.” He looked up past her ear at the dancing women who had her to clock either of the Darling twins in their disco haze. “Then again I’m pretty sure our new grandpa is actually Vito Corleone or Tony Soprano so it might be worth you dropping your bag and shaking what Gramma Nesta gave ya.”

If Abel was honest, he had little care for his twisted family tree up until fairly recently. As a boy, beyond his mother, father and sister, he knew only his Gramma Nesta and Uncle Courtney and had heard stories of his late Uncle Elijah. There was Destiny, Courtney’s daughter and then there was Xavier or “Prof” as he preferred, a boy whom his uncle Courtney treated like a son. He knew very little about the Darlings until during high school their school had to merge with Edenridge High, which his father took as a sign to try and reconnect with the family he left behind.

Meeting Grandma Temperance was a terrifying experience, not least because of her religious fanatical beliefs and an entrenched racism bubbling beneath the surface of her glamorous farmer's wife exterior. He could almost imagine his teenage father telling her that he was running off with a black woman and now understood why they had never met this side of their family until that point. Besides the Darling grandparents, his aunts and uncles were all quite fun and his cousins Ezra and Mercy were cute little things. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t take long for Temperance to plant the seeds inside Abel’s mother’s head. She had this way about her, this ability to sow discord. He didn’t know for sure but he was pretty confident that his Grandmother was the main reason why his parents were no longer together.

Abel wasn’t too shocked when his father decided to stay in Edenridge post divorce. He had grown up here, he had roots here and being back in Pinehurst would likely bring up many memories that he didn’t want. He was surprised however when Gabriel brought home his new girlfriend, Cat, or should that be old girlfriend since apparently they also dated in high school? Either way, everything came at a great time of flux for the Darlings as both Abel and Joy were about to start college. The Belmontes did seem like a nice family and they had been nothing but welcoming to them since their father first introduced them. He knew over time they would get used to this strange new world of theirs but that didn’t make it any less intimidating, which had been written all over Joy’s face since Abel picked her up from that all girls’ school in Atlanta, Georgia. Spelman College.

“Couple of hours here and I’ll take you to see Mom before the party, how’s that sound?” He was most definitely his sister's keeper, despite her being infinitely smarter than he was. Hell, the only reason Abel was even in college was because he got a basketball scholarship to Duke. He knew sports, he knew music and he knew fashion, whereas Joy had the worldmind and knew everything about anything ever. Despite this, there were days he still saw her as the little girl who fell out of their tree house and broke her leg and whom he had to rush to the hospital on his pushback, so innocent and helpless. “I’m sure Granny will make us some Jerk Chicken.”

“I want my mom now…” Joy whispered to her twin. Dropping her bag, like her brother had suggested, she took a step in but instead of joining her new family she ran upstairs to find a private room away from it all. As she ran off, she took her phone out and tapped speed dial one: Mama. It wasn’t long until there was a resonating slam on the door announcing the young lady’s departure. This caused Cat to stop dancing and turn down VAL’S volume, genuinely concerned if she and her family were being too much.

With the tradition done and over, Daniella pulled her sister by the arm to check out the backyard. Really though, she wanted to have a moment alone with her big sis who was finally home, taking a moment from her busy sports schedule to be with the family and to attend Beau’s retirement party. It wasn’t even game season so it wasn’t like she needed to compete with the UCLA Bruins right now. Whether she was with her team or not, Sofia Belmonte was always playing football. Or soccer. Whatever you prefer to call it. Practice, practice, practice. It was a never-ending cycle. It was her life. At times it felt like a sad life. Sometimes Dani did worry about her big sis, like what does she do outside of the game? Did she have friends in Cali? Did she party? Did she have a life? …Outside of kicking a ball? Was she happy?

Before they exited, both girls grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge. When they walked on the back porch, closing the screen door behind them, Dani clapped her right hand on her bottle, “Okay!” She excitedly chirped, demanding Sofia’s attention. “Now that you’re home. You’re finally going to confess to Ricky, right?”

Sofi didn’t expect the question and the sudden bluntness from her usually timid sibling. Granted Dani’s first year at SCAD really opened her up and made her vocal in general and unapologetic when it came to her opinions. Still, Sofia was not used to this side. At all. And was in the process of drinking her water when suddenly, the shock took over her and she spat what was in her mouth to the side, missing Dani by inches. “…what?” Sofi choked.

In response, Dani sassily rolled her eyes. “I’m serious. You two need to stop whatever highschool teen drama you both had going on and move on and just admit you both loved each other. Maybe, still love each other. I’m a firm believer that even if you’re traveling, he will always be thinking about you and waiting for you to come back home. Or hell, maybe he’d travel with you during game season!”

“I can’t ask that of him, that is expecting too much. We’re not kids anymore and we kind of… grew apart. For all I know, he’s married to Flora,” Sofi deflected, having avoided keeping up with Ricky’s socials out of fear of finding out something she didn’t want to know. Finding out he was happy with a life that didn’t include her.

“Please. Flora gently broke up with him to taste pussy,” Dani scoffed at her sister’s doubt. Sofia Belmonte sucked at showing her heart and speaking out her truths. Out of fear of something. Rejection? Or maybe she thought she didn’t deserve to be that happy. Maybe she thought she was giving Ricky a better life by distancing herself. Maybe she thought she couldn’t love. Or maybe it was just as simple as Sofi was scared. And terribly inexperienced. Whatever it was, she needed to stop and Dani was going to force her to take a chance, for herself, even if it was a scary place for her to be in. Even if she would have to be completely and utterly vulnerable. Even if she wanted to be stubborn as fuck and fight her feelings. Ricky was worth it and so was she. Plus if it led to dick, Dani could stop teasing her poor older sister who never tasted that good life of sex. “You’re going to spend the rest of your life asking yourself: What if. You might be thinking, what if he is taken? What if he doesn’t like me back? What if he hates me? Stop thinking about those what ifs. Start thinking about the what ifs that are positive and could also happen. What if he isn’t taken. What if he does like you back. What if he does still love you. You will never know, Sofia Elena Belmonte, until you fucking TALK and communicate with him.”

“And,” Franco interjected, entering the conversation, having slipped outside when neither of his sisters were paying attention. “Isn’t closure better regardless? You’ve had a crush on him for years and I’m sure just getting an answer would be a relief. You’ll get to move onto the next chapter, and we’ll be here for you no matter what, you know?”

With this weird intervention, Sofia’s eyes began to water, “You two need to stop growing the fuck up. I missed when you both were twerps who wanted to watch mom’s favorite movies over and over and joke about the local gossip.” She went for another sip of water, feeling her mouth dry up because of the anxiety that was building up inside her.

“Oh, and I have a girlfriend,” Franco bashfully admitted, which was rewarded with Sofia spitting out her drink again. This time away from anyone. Dani smirked, knowing all the details already. She loved watching her sister react. Pressing her buttons was always a favorite pastime of theirs. Honestly, Dani just loved being home again. As beautiful as her college was, and how fun it was too, there was no place like home.

“What the heck?” Sofia coughed, patting her chest and putting her bottle down on the patio table.

Before she could interrogate, Dani was back at it again. “I totally just texted Ricky too, with your phone, telling him you really needed to see him. You’re welcome,” Dani giggled, pulling out Sofi’s phone from her dress pocket and offering it to her, “Really? His birthday as your passcode? Not clever, sis.”

“SHUT UP!” Sofia ripped the phone out of her sister’s hand and rushed down the back porch stairs and far, far from the house to sit under a tree. Once she was settled, her back leaned up against the bark, she nervously stared at the text that Dani sent waiting to see if he would respond.

To: Dimples
Hey, I’m in town… can we talk?

Part of her hoped he didn’t.

Meanwhile, Cat approached Gabriel’s son, Abel, and frowned, “Was I too much? I’m sorry if I was.” Gabriel Darling had yet arrived, having gotten a call from his own mother, who was doing what she did best, which was check on her kids. More recently, him. Ever since he came back into the picture, Temperance called at least once every other day and as always, she had impeccable timing (not). Abe was left with his future step-mother, seeing how the rest of the kids ran off to do anything else. He was left to do damage control and there was no doubt that the Italian woman standing before him was growing increasingly insecure by the second. “... I’d check on her but I’m unsure if she wants that from me. Everytime I try to connect with her, she doesn’t receive it well. Are you okay with this?” Cat gestured around them, showing what she meant by ‘this’ change. The change that his dad had just bought a house with her. A new woman that wasn’t his mom.

“Try not to worry yourself, Miss Cat.” Abel placed his bag down onto the floor as he looked up at the beautiful woman he had no doubt his father would soon call wife, “Joy struggles with any kind of change, even minor ones. She once locked herself in a bathroom for three hours because a pack of cookies had seven bites in it instead of eight.” The young basketball star wasn’t lying, Jovie had always had great difficulty when things in her young life didn’t go the way she planned or at least the way she thought they would. There was a time when Gabriel and Naomi thought it best to have their daughter seek help for her aversion, believing it a medical issue such as an adjustment disorder. If life was a highway, even a small bend in the road would send Joy careening off of a cliff and into shark infested waters. “It’s nothing personal, really.” Lucky for her, even in spite of their obvious differences, she’d always had Abel to pull her out of the deep waters.

Pulling up and parking behind his son's car, Gabriel Darling paused for a moment before entering his new home, where his new family would be waiting for him. Life finds a way of coming round again when you least expect it. Gabe was happy with his life in Pinehurst, he was happy with Naomi, Abel and Joy. Yet when his mother called, telling him that his sister Serenity was pregnant and that she needed him home, he knew that he had to be there but he really didn’t want to be. It was Naomi who convinced him to go home again. He didn’t expect that when he did, the cracks would begin to show and those cracks would turn into fissures. Life on the farm changed the Darling’s world and eventually the chasm between Gabe and Nomes became too hard to cross.

He hadn’t thought that by moving back to Edenridge that he would end up meeting old faces and friends and slotting back into a world he thought he’d left behind. His childhood friendships with the likes of Bobby Osso, Jonah Steen and Lydia Anderson carried on like he had never left but it was when Gabe bumped into a recently divorced Cat Belmonte, the one that got away, a woman that he once believed he would marry, that the world came around again. In her presence, Gabriel was sixteen again and a love he thought once lost, was found.

Walking into his new home, his large six foot three frame nearly forcing him to head butt a pretty chandelier in the entryway, Gabe ruffled his oldest child’s dreadlocks. He knew Abel hated this. There were only two things that his boy considered sacred, his hair and the basketball court. “Why don’t you drop your stuff upstairs and then when Joy’s ready we’ll make a plan for the day?” He watched as Abel followed his suggestion and departed the room, his duffel bags slung over his shoulder. Gabriel stepped forward and slid an arm around Caterina’s slender waist. Even after all these years, she was still one of the most beautiful woman on the planet. “You ok?”

“I think so,” Cat leaned her head on her lover’s chest, contemplating the course of events that had transpired and her short interaction with Gabe’s son. “Your son reminds me of someone who is wiser than people give him credit for.” She smiled to herself as she thought of a dear friend that to this day still came into her shop for the Costigan special. Though now he had a wife and a daughter, and Cat couldn’t be happier for him. She loved seeing those she cared about become exactly who they were meant to be. For Clay, he always was a loving person. Cat saw that in him at such a young age and now he was surrounded by exactly that. Love.

As for her, she closed her eyes and took in her boyfriend’s scent. Content and at peace. “Joy ran upstairs,” she admitted, still wondering what she could do to make it better. “I know her trusting me will take time. I just hope I can do it.” Going quiet briefly, she held her first love and now forever love, still surprised that time brought him back to her. What she and Gabe had in highschool was simple. They were two kids extremely attracted to one another that found an escape from their hardships and struggles when they were together. They were each other’s safe place and way back when they were each other’s biggest fantasy. Unfortunately, Cat was deeply insecure when she was with him and when his mom didn’t immediately accept her or gaslit her because of how Cat presented herself, both her and Gabe decided it was best to call it quits. For each other’s sake.

Who would’ve expected Temperance would accept her after years and with her son already having a wife? Cat was still unsure where that woman stood with her but what she did know was she wanted to be with Gabe and she would do her part to make sure he wouldn’t run away. He’d stay by her side like they always were meant to be. She opened her eyes and glanced up at Gabriel. Gently caressing his face, she smiled, burying her worries and focusing on the moment with the love of her life, “Welcome home, baby.”

“It’s good to be home.” Gabriel leaned down and kissed his beautiful girlfriend's face. He smiled like a Cheshire cat as he caught a glimpse of her pretty hazel eyes. God he loved those eyes. “Trust me though, Cat. Joy will come around. Yeah it’ll take a little while but she’ll see in you what we all do eventually. Give her her space. You know she likes you after our trip to New York together but this whole moving in together thing is unprecedented ground for her.” Gabe wandered deeper into the kitchen and picked up an apple from the freshly set basket on their dining table and tossed it into the air, only to smoothly catch it behind his back with his other hand. “Couldn’t do that again even if I tried.” He chuckled before taking a crunchy bite. “Where are your kids? I was half expecting them to have already burned the place down?”

Her gaze softened as she watched Gabriel move around their house casually and freely. There were times she felt like they’d gone to the past and the boy she was staring at was the nerdy, goofy kid that made Edenridge feel like home. She strolled to the kitchen and gestured toward the sliding glass double doors that led to their backyard. Franco and Dani were sitting at the patio table texting on their phones and Sofi could be seen at a distance by a tree, hitting her head on the trunk, likely out of nerves. The two adults watched as the eldest brought her attention back to her phone, waiting for something. “Gotta’ love technology,” Cat commented, rolling her eyes and taking a seat on a stool by the island. Inhaling and exhaling, she closed her eyes and took in the peace and quiet. All the kids were doing their own thing and she could finally rest her mind. The hard part was over. Or so she thought.

Opening her eyes, she surveyed their home, already thinking of ways of decorating it and making it their own. She was getting excited at the mere thought of buying items that suited both her family and Gabe’s. This was a new chapter for them. A new chapter for her. Though underneath all the excitement part of her was nervous. Part of her was scared. She wondered if they jumped into things without thinking about anyone but themselves. She had dealt with Tommaso for far longer than she should’ve and now that she was grabbing onto something, clinging onto it for some sort of happiness, she could feel her insecurities creeping up on her like she was a teenager again. Cat was finally taking the steps she needed for her own happiness. That didn’t change that this was something daunting to her. It wasn’t the change that scared her, like it did Joy. It was the risk of falling incredibly in love and not feeling like she deserved it. “We’re not moving fast, are we baby?”

This was typical of Caterina. For as long as Gabriel had known the beautiful woman, she had long held the deepest of insecurities within her heart. She was an anxious person, her nerves often dancing on a knife's edge but all hidden beneath the facade she had painstakingly built around herself. “Cat, we've known each other for over twenty years.” He leaned into his elbows, securing a position on the same kitchen island that his girlfriend had perched herself at. “Some might say we didn’t move fast enough.”

Gabe knew where these feelings of hers were coming from. Both of them had been married previously and both of them had fallen into each other's arms again quicker than they might have suspected. Yet that was the key as to why it was the right thing, Cat and Gabriel had been together as teenagers and had only really ended things because of outside forces and naivety of youth. Now they were older, wiser; a little greyer and had more life experience to allow them to make the positive choices that they neglected the first time around as well as ignore negative influences. This was Edenridge and people liked to talk. The word homewrecker had been floated, the question of Sofi’s paternity had been asked and racial prejudice had been fired at them by a select few.

“Get out of your head baby. Take a breath.” Gabriel reached out and laced his fingers with Cat’s and kissed the side of her head. “Be here with me and our family. It’s a brave new world and we’re going to face it together.”

“Our family,” Cat repeated after her boyfriend, smiling at him, deep in thought. Her hazel eyes went from his face to his big, rough hands. They held her small ones firm, yet tenderly. This was all profound that now, as she approaches forty, she was finding herself and it was with her highschool sweetheart. “You missed the dance-a-thon, Gabriel,” she smirked, talking lowly for only his ears, as she glanced back up at him. “This house won’t feel like home until you dance with me, you know that right?”

Never letting go of his hand, she slipped off the stool, turned him to her and leaned her chest against his. Tilting her head down and looking up at her lover, peering up at him all innocent-like, she pushed her worries to the side to be in the moment with him. “VAL, play Faithfully by Journey.” As Val responded, Cat led her man to the living room floor. She placed one of her hands on his shoulder, keeping his other hand in her gentle grasp, shifting their bodies intimately and closely, ready for a casual slow dance. “You remember when no one was dancing at our winter formal and you came to me all nervous-like, asking me to be your first dance?”

“I certainly do.” Gabe smiled as he began to move slowly with his lover wrapped up in his arms to the music. “Though if I remember correctly, I wasn’t the only one asking you to dance. Just the only one you said yes to.” He looked back on those days fondly, the days where in the throes of youth he found a deep love with a woman that was way out of his league. As he looked back on the day in question, Gabriel let the smile on his lips curl in memory.

In those bygone days, one would be hard pressed to find a closer group of friends than the ones that surrounded Caterina Belmonte. Cat just always had the ability to draw people to her, she was always surrounded by friends and people that adored and worshiped her. The Heartbreakers, Bobby, the jocks, the nerds like Gabe, hell, even some Pinehurst Monarchs, they all were a little bit in love with Cat. He considered himself lucky every day that she chose him over the rest of them. “I also remember Bobby taking his bat to Matty Fell’s car for some perceived slight. Man, Bobby was nuts.”

“Still is, but he has Lydia to be his center,” Cat leaned her head on her boyfriend’s chest, holding him close, leaving little to no space between them as they swayed to the song they danced to many, many years ago. She closed her eyes and breathed in his warm and spicy scent. For once in her life, nerves aside, she was at peace. It took her years to fight the demons that lurked over her shoulder, especially in regards to her self worth, loneliness and the unbreakable feeling that she was more of an object than a person. Now she could say she was okay. She was doing okay and that she would continue to be okay. Even on days she wasn’t okay, she had Gabriel to hold her, just like he was doing right now, dancing her worries away.

That didn’t change the fact that Cat still needed to hear time and time again, the reasons he loved her and the reason he came back. She needed to hear those words because without them, she would be lost. She was a good woman. A good mother. A good daughter. A good lover. But her voice never seemed to be loud enough, and she still struggled to convince herself that she was a good person. She wished she could see herself in Gabriel’s eyes. She wished she could see how beautiful she was to a man that absolutely adored her. Sadly, her heart couldn’t believe in that whimsical fairytale. There was too much damage to repair. She, however, would continue to trust the process and trust him. They were okay and they’d always be okay as long as they had each other. “What made you come back? To me, I mean.” She opened her eyes to bring her attention back to her boyfriend. “I know why you came back. For your family. But what made you want to try this again? You’re handsome. Smart. Funny. Loving. A complete catch. You could’ve dated around and found a new girl. Someone fresh that you’ve never experienced. What made you think of me?” She gazed at him thoughtfully, with so much curiosity in her big, hazel eyes, seeking to hear things her heart already knew the answer to. “… I never thought you’d come back, honestly. So the fact that this is us now. It’s like a dream come true.”

Cat had days like this, where the melancholy settled in and she needed to hear why she was loved. For all the distance between them, Gabriel couldn’t help but notice how similar Cat was to his daughter Joy. “The main reason I came back was because Matty still had those photos from our senior trip to Calgary and he told me I had to love you, so it’s basically blackmail.” Gabe was known for his smile. It was big and toothy and even when he was trying to be subtle it was a huge grin that he was unable to hide. Jokes had always been his way of putting people at ease. As a child, with a family like his, Gabriel needed to find a way to deal with the insurmountable pressure that came with being a Darling. For him, humor, the theater and Cat were those emergency exits.

With his love in his arms, he pressed his lips to her forehead and left his chin there to comfort her as he continued. “I came back to you because no one has ever made me feel like you do. When we were together the first time, whenever I was with you, nothing else mattered. I had no problems, no heartache, no deep fears that swallowed me whole. It was just you and me.” Gabe raised his fingers to gently caress Caterina’s soft cheek. “After my divorce, I was looking for a way to make sure my kids felt that same freedom. Then I took them for a sandwich in your shop and it just clicked. I knew it was you. It’s always been you.”

Smiling at his words, Caterina didn’t say anything in return. Rather, she pushed herself up to bring her parted lips close to his. She didn’t kiss him immediately, no matter how alluring and heavenly he was to her. Feeling his warmth, staring at him fondly, Cat brushed her lips against his, teasingly. She loved to play just as much as he loved to joke. The way he watched her, the way he openly loved her, unashamed and without restraint, and the way he held her close, needing her, wanting her, made her crave him. This feeling he gave her was something she searched for, all her life, and now she had it. She had someone that loved her and would fight for her, and remind her that she was deserving of love. She was deserving of a happy ending.

Breaching the small gap, Cat let their hearts collide. No longer dancing to the music, she held this moment like a still photo, loving him beyond reason, beyond words and beyond measure. The Italian woman could hear the thud of their combined heartbeat as they kissed. And they kissed intensely, her mouth melding into his and insisting on more. Like a blushing bride, she felt young again. Only Gabriel could make her feel like no time had passed from now since they first fell for one another; when they were young, dumb and incredibly naive to the world. She loved this man and she was so grateful he loved her back.

It wasn’t until the back porch door opened that they were pulled away from this feverish dream when Sofi came rushing in, grabbing her bag off the couch, “Gotta’ jet mom. I’m… meeting with an old friend.” Sofi didn’t care that her parents were in the middle of a make out session. She was quick to kiss her mom on the cheek and sucker punch Gabe in the arm, not ready to show him affection just yet. “Oh and I’m dropping Dani and Franco off at grandpa’s. I’m sure he could use the company.” Sofi smiled, hinting at potentially giving the two of them much needed alone time. Though she only had influence with her blood siblings. Whether Joy and Abel find an excuse to leave or not, that was their own prerogative but Sofi wasn’t going to waste her time while she was in Eden. She needed to see her once upon a time best friend. “I’ll see you tonight!”

“Bye mom, bye Gabe!” Dani gave a Cheshire-like grin as she could feel the heat in the air. “Don’t get into too much trouble while we’re away.” She simply waved at the two adults before trailing behind her older sister, taking a moment to grab her backpack with art supplies. She wasn’t going to stay at grandpa’s for too long. Dani had a date, but that was neither here nor there. None of her family needed to know what she was getting up to. That was her business and her business alone.

“Oh,” Cat tried to gather herself and think of words to say as her kids rushed out, clearly needing to escape. Before she could say more, she was occupied with her youngest. Her attention completely pulled away from her boyfriend by the sudden departure of all her babies. Well, they weren’t babies anymore.

“Bye mommy,” Franco intercepted his mother from her lover, embracing her fully and snuggling against her warmth. He let the hug linger for a long minute. Once he was happy, he freed her and ran after his sisters who had already exited the front door, going to Sofi’s polymetal gray Mazda CX-30.

Cat blinked a couple times, stunned how fast the kids came and went. They all were growing up way too fast. There were days like today she struggled to process it. “See you later, my babies,” she whispered, knowing well enough they couldn’t hear her now, seeing how Sofi was already backing out of the driveway. “Well that just happened…” She turned to Gabe, wondering how he felt with half of their little army taking the opportunity to not unpack and just leave to do whatever it is they wanted to do. She was hoping she’d get insight on how they felt about the house but nope. They clearly had better things to do.

“We’re old now, Cat. The kids don’t want to spend time with their parents. Especially when they’re making out.” Gabriel brushed a strand of her beautiful brown locks and tucked it behind her ear. “Speaking of…” As the dentist leaned down to kiss the love of his life, they were disturbed by an all mighty clatter charging down the stairs. It sounded like a rhino charging through the Serengeti preparing to fire them into oblivion. Rounding the corner however was not the gray skinned protector of the animal kingdom. No, it was a different kind of protector, it was his son, Abel, with his twin sister slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“Will you stop squirming, Joy? Jesus H!” Abel had a tight grip around his other half’s flailing legs as he paused to stop and look at his father and future step mother.

“Put me down!” Joy protested. Her brother had interrupted her phone call with their mother, telling her to just meet them at grandma’s. That he got it covered. She didn’t need his help. She had everything handled and she was completely fine.

“…She got a case of the sads. It’s all gravy, I’m taking her to Gammas for some breakfast and to hopefully sort out whatever silly shit she’s got going on in….Joy stop fucking with my hair!” The basketball player waved at his father and Cat before carrying on out of the front door, leaving the new family home silent.

As they slowly made their exit, Joy stared at her father and future step mother defeatedly. She didn’t say goodbye though. She was obviously in a mood and wasn’t ready to accept Cat as her new mother. It wasn’t that the woman was a bad person. It was just no one would replace her mother and it was extremely hard for her to accept that her parents didn’t love each other. Abel said she would come around but she doubted it. In her heart, there was only one mama.

The lack of acknowledgement from Joy Darling caused Cat to frown. She knew what was going on in that little girl’s head. She knew how hard it was to accept change especially in regards to her parents splitting. Cat would never replace her mother, she would never dare to try. And she was sure her children would never consider Gabe their father. But part of her hoped their children would still look at both of them and accept that their parents were happy. That even if they weren’t blood related, Cat would be there for them, just as she hoped Gabe would be there for her kids, including Sofia, who he was made aware was Dexter’s daughter.

After years of believing Sofia was Tommaso’s, when Dexter came back into the picture to question it, she realized that there was a huge possibility that Sofia could’ve been his, Gabe’s or truly, Tom’s. She was young and was in over her head, with support from Lydia but having no idea how to move forward, afraid her father would disown her. She didn’t think about questioning her first baby’s DNA. That is until Dex tried to make amends and put food for thought in her mind. She was afraid to find out and part of her hoped Sofia’s was Gabe’s. Of course, that was wistful thinking and the results came in. Sofia was Dexter’s. With that knowledge however, Cat found herself seeing the boy she once loved. The one unchained by his past. The one that wanted to be present and live in the moment. The one that wanted to be there, and have people lean on him. Dexter slowly but surely rebuilt the bridge he had burned years ago, co-parenting and putting any bad history between them behind him. He wanted to be there for his child and that meant the world to Cat. In addition to that, Sofia gained a friend in Frankie, her half sister.

“They really do grow up too fast,” Cat heavily sighed.

“Maybe.” Gabriel’s handsome face was soon crossed by that smirk of his, the one that Cat had first fallen in love with amongst the horrible moss green lockers of Nathaniel Carlisle Hall at Edenridge High. “But the benefit of them growing up is that we have our brand new house to ourselves.” The tall man placed both of his hands on his lover's beautiful face and caressed her perfect lips with his thumb as he lost himself in her hazel eyes. “Miss Belmonte, I believe you have an emergency appointment with your dentist.”

Cat couldn’t help but chuckle at Gabriel’s roleplaying. He knew how to brighten up the mood and have fun doing it. That was her Gabe. The man she loved when they were teens and the man she still loved as adults. Humor was his gift and she adored that about him. With their collective troubles and thoughts, he continued to lift her up, putting her first before himself. He never stopped carrying her and making her feel like she was in heaven on Earth. She hoped she did the same for him, in her own way. She hoped he knew how much he meant to her.

She’d play along.

She always did.

“Oh, I almost forgot, Doctor. I am long overdue for a… filling,” she impishly batted her eyes at him before looking around, pretending to be lost, “Where’s your office again? I don’t want to postpone. I can’t possibly, if it’s an emergency.”

“Don’t fret!” Gabriel took a step back to bow to his lady. His voice changed to his best impression of a classic golden era Hollywood impression. “We will find it together because in this house I’m not yet entirely sure where it is either.” Taking his girlfriend's hand, Gabe slapped her well toned butt as he led her away from their kitchen and deeper into their brand new home where they would finally be the family they were always meant to be.

What goes around….

~ Welcome to Sanctuary ~

@LovelyComplex Ahhhh please do!! We can have the gang back together haha

@The Muse

~ Welcome to Sanctuary ~

me seeing viciousmarrow coming out of retirement for this

ehem. i mayhaps join. please be patient with me though while i brain stew on things.

Edenridge

_{Timestamp: Early Morning
FT: Maxine Gonzalez
Small FT: Elysia Fable, with mentions of Owen and Indira Quinn.
Introducing: Helga Stephens (she will be in the mainverse)}

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There was a new journalist in town who didn’t know any better and Maxine Gonzalez was outside of the Edge of Sin, her territory, slowly losing her patience. Her and her friends had only taken a moment to go outside, on break of party planning so Elysia could smoke, for this fool to approach her like she ran the place. An audacious stranger expecting to understand the many secrets this town had to offer. Not even Kylee Grimm and Wesley Silo involved themselves with serpent and angel affairs. Fear Gorta too since the newest development was they rejoined their origin gang, making amends with Big Rey Gonzalez.

It was too early for this shit too.

It was too early for Helga Stephens from The Reformer.

“It’s interesting that an establishment like this is still running and crime litters the streets of Edenridge. Makes you wonder if people like Deputy Chief James and Chief Broadus have led this town to corruption.”

“Max, I can take care of this if you’d…?” Ely's voice trailed while she flicked the ashes off her cigarette, losing her train of thought when she met the eyes of not her best friend but the Queensnake. Also known as Striker in the streets of Eden. “Or we can go inside.” Ely double-backed, knowing that look, as did Indira and Owen. It was a little unnerving at times, especially since up until junior year, none of them knew that Max had any of this boss bitch energy in her. She kept it tidy behind a lady facade. Max was no lady though. She was the daughter of Craig Royce, Sylvester James and Victoria Mooney. A legacy of three Southside serpents. Striker, Rocky and Fates.

Venom and poison ran through her veins just as much as the elements did. Fire, for her passion. Lightning, for her ambition. Water, for her love. Earth, for her intelligence. Air, for her dreams. Instead of saying anything in return, Maxine coldly watched the other woman scope the area, which led Ely to nod her head to the other two. After resting her cigarette in the outdoor standing ashtray, knowing well enough how much Max cared for the environment, Elysia Fable strolled back inside the Edge, leaving her dear best friend to take care of business.

“You know, I have connections. They could easily get you to talk,” Helga smiled, still on the offensive. She had been interrupting and bothering Max for the past week, having done her research and knowing that this girl here was married to no other than Reynaldo Gonzalez Jr. The King of the Southside Serpents. The reporter was persistent, and obviously desperate. Max could respect the hustle up to a point. Now, it was getting out of hand. Last night a few of the baby snakes approached her, the young ones just trying to make a living, and told her that this reporter lady approached them at their corner and tried to get them to talk about how things were run, putting on the disguise that she was interested in joining. She even went out of her way to dress the part.

God, Maxine hated journalists.

“You got a lot going on, I’m sure, and I’m surprised no one’s cleaned this up. You, no less, who I learned cares about this town so much you have multiple projects going on in the background. It’s all so fascinating, don’t you think? How this,” Helga looked up at the Edge and back at Maxine, smug as if she had clear dirt on her, “is the normal here.”

Maxine didn’t need her husband to worry that a rat was trying to slip in their den and cause displeasure. Whatever this woman might have on the Gonzalez family, if anything, was not enough to get Maxine to bat an eyelash. Looks like Helga was banking on getting access to the Edge, thinking ReyRey was the backbone of the Snakes and not his wife.

When the reporter finally shut the fuck up, Maxine, stoic in her demeanor, shouldering the burdens of Edenridge and carrying the crown of the Southside with her beloved, a natural born leader, not a parasite, took a step forward, incing ever so closely to the stranger. “Let me tell you something, Miss Stephens.”

Grinning widely, Helga crossed her arms, with her small notepad and pen in hand, and gave the Edenite the floor, “Please do.” Regardless if this went good or bad for her, she knew nothing would stop her from getting her story. She wanted to make slimy towns like Edenridge great again. It was her job to reform and that’s exactly what she would do. Some would say she was in over her head. She would say nothing was impossible, not even pipe dreams of taking down the Pinehurst Inquirer. Her dreams were attainable and it started with the most haunted town in the United States. Edenridge.

Never raising her voice, Maxine narrowed her eyes and cooly admitted, “I don’t like being threatened.”

“Oh, so what does that mean, Queensnake?” Helga teased, amused at how this young girl carried herself. What? Only twenty five with a body that looks like anyone could snap in half? Helga wasn’t impressed and if she were being honest, Maxine did not look like she was meant for this life. “Does this mean you’re going to turn green? I’m shaking.”

“No bitch,” Maxine leaned forward and hissed. Her serpentine eyes reached Helga’s soul, causing the woman to take a step back. Helga Stephens couldn’t look away and part of her didn’t want to, the other part of her was starting to realize that maybe force wasn’t the best approach. As if all calculated and planned, Maxine seethed, “I turn red. I give no fucks okay? Now!” Striker slithered closer, backing the reporter to the wall of her business. The venom was reduced to a simmer, as Max forced a charming, winsome smile and heavily suggested, “For your own good, I will advise you to back the fuck off.”

Even if she was growing increasingly afraid for her own life, Helga couldn’t help but counter, “Why would I do that? Why would I let you and your husband continue to commit crimes? This town needs fixing and you clearly aren’t doing anything about that.” The reporter stood her ground, even if dumbly.

The way she sweated was more than enough to keep Striker in attack mode. Maxine’s cold green eyes scanned the woman’s body, before grabbing her attention again, trapping the Rat in the infamous Carlisle gaze. Mesmerizing, bone-chilling and absolutely haunting. “You better be very, very careful where you walk. I won’t be as forgiving next time.”

“I’m going to stop you right there.” Helga raised her hand, putting it in between her and the pale skinned woman. “Do you know who I represent?” She gestured to herself, as if everyone knew her name and where she came from. Without a doubt, Miss Stephens was becoming defensive, not liking the downright disrespect this little girl was showing her. Helga Stephens had more experience, more years and more knowledge than this wannabe snake would ever know. To think a frail girl like Maxine James would go on a power trip now that she was married into the Gonzalez family. Please.

“I don’t give a FUCK.” Maxine growled, grabbing the woman’s chin and forcibly backing her into the wall. “Remember who the fuck I am and,” the Queensnake leaned in close, her red painted lips inches away from Helga’s. She whispered, “Back off.” It only takes one more wrong move for all of Max’s pent up aggression to unleash. It was then that Tate went to check on her. When she saw ReyRey’s best friend, Maxine released the reporter and left her rage and anger outside, refusing to bring that in her den.

“See you later, Helga Stephens. Or not.” The Queensnake disappeared from sight. It didn’t take long for the frazzled woman, a stranger in a strange land, to rush into her car and speed off. Maxine was annoyed but not bothered. She had better things to do like plan Mr. Beau’s retirement party. She had better things to do like be with her friends. She had better things to do like grab lunch with her father. She had better things to do like protect the empire her husband continued to grow and spend her days in his loving embrace. Maxine Gonazlez had better things to do and none of those things had a dumb reporter bitch named Helga in it.

Edenridge

_{TIMESTAMP: The Morning before Beau’s Retirement Party.
Life is but a dream…}

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Like many days in her bedroom, though this time they had a small home of their own, sun rays of brilliant colors eased their way into an open window, the light making Penelope Decker’s skin glow. A nearly translucent white curtain swayed with the morning breeze calling for her to rise. The girl whose skin was that of the purest white snow, whose eyes were like an enchanting forest, something that could silence clocks, silence minds and whose body had become ravishing, over the course of time, more womanly in a sense, was peaceful and sound asleep.

The dark haired woman was still petite and delicate but she had grown in an unexpected and more sensual kind of way. Or perhaps that’s how she carried herself? Confidant, self assured and centered. Happy and full, with no unanswered questions, just how life was supposed to be. She could say she did that all herself but the reality was because she had everything she wanted and needed, all in the form of a boy she couldn’t live without, Poppy was complete. Poppy was whole. Poppy was happy.

The friendship quilt that she helped sew with her sister that consisted of memories of her, Charlie, Decky and Jade was hanging off the bed. Two of the blocks were Decky and Danny’s first kippahs and another block was a pattern Max help design with Jade, which had angel wings, representing everything Jade felt she was and colors to showcase her outlook in life. Poppy’s form was hardly covered, seeing how most of the blanket was almost on the floor. She wore one of Charlie’s shirts, a mustard colored checked flannel, that was gigantic on her. Everything of his was huge on her. Especially on her. It had risen up throughout the night and now she was curled up and sleeping on his pillow.

Waking up was the worst part of the day. While she loved being productive and immersing herself in the community of her home, Blue Hill Reservation — she and Charlie had moved there right after graduation — she also liked this bed and how comfy it was. The pillow smelt like Charlie too. This was a trap which only forced her to go into a deeper sleep and never want to wake up. Oh, how wonderful it felt to feel comfort, to feel safe and to feel loved wholeheartedly by the one person you’ve loved with every bit of energy and soul, for as long as you could remember.

Charlie Jay. Her forever. Her always. Her entire world.

He tried to pull into what would be considered their driveway as quietly as possible. Though their driveway, like most of the area around their home by the foot of the Blue Hills was just dirt and rocks. When Charlie and Penelope had opted to make their lives together on the Reservation, they made the conscious decision to not live at the Silverheel ranch, no matter how much his little sister Mitena begged. Not that she was there herself, too busy shacking up in Pinehurst with Lexie and teaching kids all about music. No Charlie knew that despite their relation, he was no Silverheel, that was Tena’s birthright. He was a Strongbow, the son of James. Which was why when they arrived, they found his old familial house, which sat empty and abandoned and decided that it would be where their future together started.

They didn’t have a lot of money to start with, especially considering how quickly they got married but things took a sudden change when Poppy took it upon herself to send out copies of Charlie’s novel to publishers across the country, after some expert editing from her of course. Eventually, someone decided it was worth a damn and picked it up. What followed was an absolute whirlwind for Charlie. Something about the book resonated, especially with younger people and over time it became a New York Times best seller. The young native could never have expected such a response to the thoughts and feelings he wrote in his journals as a teenager and now his publishers were screaming for more, though for the last year, Charlie had been suffering some writer's block.

Poppy had been great in supporting him as wife, as his editor? That was a different story. Penelope Decker was a hardass if ever there was one. It was her that suggested giving Beau an advanced copy of his latest works in hopes that their former English teacher might provide Charlie with the same inspiration that he had given him as a teenager. There had never been a bigger proponent for the talent of Charlie than Beau except maybe his mother, Ronnie. Having just undergone successful surgery on her eyes, things were looking good for Mama Decker. She had gotten back to work, taking a part time job at Main Street Music and she was dating again for the first time in a long time. Amongst all her trials and tribulations, Ronnie never once ever stopped believing in her son, she never gave up. Not once.

Charlie crept into his home, having taken his shoes off on the porch and tried to silently make his way towards the back of the house where no doubt he would find his forever love starfished across the bed. He didn’t really know why he was trying to be a ninja because Poppy Decker could sleep for the dead. He slithered into their bedroom and caught sight of the sun illuminating her pale features as she slept. Creator, she was absolutely perfect. Gently placing himself down the bed next to her, Charlie softly caressed her long brown hair, a smile across his face.

He was happy.

Feeling his gentle touch caused her to stir in her sleep. Subconsciously and habitually, she moved toward the heat that was radiating off her husband. Nuzzling her face against his chest, she took in his natural odor, which was much stronger than the scent remnants on his pillow. She slid her hand around his body, intertwined her legs with his, straight into a lovers’ knot, and held him close. The flannel she was wearing was loose and had gradually fallen down her shoulder when she moved closer to her beloved. There was no doubt he could see what was underneath by simply glancing down. Her eyes had yet to open and her chest moved with soft breaths. Penelope was still asleep but now she held him captive.

For someone so small, Poppy had the strength of a Boa Constrictor. Maybe she was secretly hitting the gym with her Uncle Craig on the sly. Charlie didn’t mind though; whenever she was touching him or even just in his vicinity he felt pure joy and elation. Sliding down the bed slightly to give her more room to snuggle into him, Charlie leaned his head forward and pressed a soft kiss to Pop's cheek. He was quite possibly the luckiest man alive. He had found his person early in life and he was never going to let her go. Their love was profound and their lust was intense. She was the main character in his book and she always would be.

The way his shirt fell off of her shoulder was all it would take to put Charlie into a certain kind of mindset. His large hand moved to allow his fingertips to dance over her shoulder like the morning sun as it kissed her skin. How could he ever want to be anywhere else than with his wife, on the Rez and surrounded by people that adored them? It just wasn’t a reality he would want to be a part of. This was home.

“Rise and shine, Mrs. Decker.”

“Mm…” Penelope whined, not wanting to open her eyes. She was too comfortable and she wanted to cuddle him forever. Sure, today was a brand new day and she likely had a few things to do, but did any of that matter when she was exactly where she wanted to be? “But Charlie,” she softly protested. “I don’t want to,” she continued to complain. She really did not want this dream to end. For how long they’ve been married now, this all felt surreal. Some days she thinks back on their hardships, especially when he was stuck in his head throughout middle school and into highschool. She looks back and wonders how did they make it this far when there were some days she worried he’d succumb to his self doubt and pain. None of that mattered anymore because they made it. They were here. Both well and alive. He was her’s, she was his and they were together.

Sluggishly, and begrudgingly, Poppy opened her eyes. Her pretty greens didn’t take long to go straight to those earthy hues that connected her to his soul. She drowsily smiled. She loved waking up to his face. Her hand, having released him from its hold, slid up his chest before finding its destination. As she stared at him adoringly, completely and utterly in love, she booped his nose, “Good morning, Choo Choo.”

“Good morning, my heart.” Charlie leaned and kissed Poppy’s soft, pouty lips gently. Breathing in her scent was the best part of his day. Staring into those big green eyes was the best part of his day. Holding her warm, ghostlike skin between his fingertips was the best part of his day. No matter the chaos of his mind, which still raged ever onwards and despite therapy with Shannon, Charlie found an anchor and a home with the girl next door, the girl he had loved all of his life, Poppy James or should he say Poppy Decker now?

It didn’t take much for the writer to pull Penelope into his lap where he held her close. The decision to move to Blue Hill was her idea. Poppy had visited with Charlie a few times when they were still in high school and she fell in love with the place and its people. She especially loved the Chief of the Reservation, Chris Coldwind. Part of the reason for their move was because of the beauty of the place, the other because Poppy thought a change in scenery might inspire Charlie’s words. His first book had so much darkness, so much pain, perhaps she thought the light of Blue Holl would penetrate his soul. Charlie wasn’t so sure, as good as his life was at that present time, there was still a black spot on his soul.

“So…” The indigenous man placed his hand on Poppy’s thigh and wrote her name with his finger atop her skin. “What are your plans today? After we get breakfast first of course, I’ve already texted Resi for the bagels.”

With her long, beautiful dark hair cascading down and tickling his face, she leaned toward him and cradled his head, brushing her nose with his. With her mind finally processing the new day, the do-list came rushing in, as it always did when she woke up, “Breakfast always first then I was going to say hi to Landon and Bucky, see the progress with the educational center renovations. Afterwards, I was going to help with the community garden with the Summerhill girls and I promised the Chief I’d also help paint his house!” The more Penelope talked, the more she realized she might’ve overbooked herself, “But have no fear baby, I know today is Beau’s retirement party and I’ll be ready. I promiseeeee. Plus Maxie needs help setting things up. Heh...” Poppy scrunched her nose, she really did have a busy day ahead of her. Even with all that being said, her mind still left plenty of room for Charlie, “Were you able to give your draft to him?” She asked curiously.

“Poppy Decker, you are such a Rez Dog.” Charlie culled his wife’s face, his thumb dragging tenderly over her lower lip. She was perfect and she was his, no matter how busy she made herself. “Yeah I handed it over. I re-read it before I took it to town…so yeah I haven’t slept. I must say your snoring is a great way to stop me falling asleep whilst I read.” Sleep was something that had avoided the Decker boy his whole life. It was something he had grown accustomed to lacking and didn’t bother him anymore. In spite of this, Penelope and Ronnie both were insistent he see someone about it for medication or techniques. It made him feel loved. “I’m not sure it’s good though, Pops. I think it’s lacking something, I just don’t know what.”

When he commented on her snoring, Penelope casually rolled her eyes before attentively listening to him and his concerns. He was always hard on himself. That, no matter the day or age, would ever change. “Well…” Penelope responded, stroking his hair and thinking on his words. Even with his circumstances getting better, even with him being happy with attainable goals and a support system that loved and adored him, he was still the saddest boy she ever met. His issues would not be fixed overnight nor would they be fixed in a year. This is who she chose to be with and everything that came with him. His sadness, his need for alone time, his mind that harbors so much chaos and so many questions, his heavy heart, his tender soul… this is what their love looked like.

Through the course of their life she learned rather quickly that love was difficult. Full of pains. Love requires determination and a deliberate choice, everyday, that this is your person and they will always be your person. Love was once lonely but love progressed into light. Hope. Something beautiful. Something for her to call her own. No matter what tomorrow brought, they’d have each other and would go through the highs, the lows and everything in between together. Love changes all the time, never granting permanence but something you never want to let go. Penelope keeps an open mind, taking things day by day but the one thing that would never change for her is who she’d wake up next to, who she’d eat bagels with and who she’d cry and laugh in front of. Without Charlie, her Charlie, she would be lost and that’s because there was no other choice but him. He was who she loved. He was who she chose to be with.

Instead of going on and on and on about things that were beyond her, like making suggestions to help his writer’s funk that he may not want to hear, Penelope decided to speak in his language and quoted, “All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know. Ernest Hemingway.” Everyone has their personal truths, something that would be so fascinating if it was written out into a story. Writing even one sentence, that is always knocking at your mind’s door, putting pen and paper together, and just letting your heart bleed out, that’s when the words start to come. That’s when things get easier and all those words at the tip of your tongue flow out like this was exactly what you were meant to do. That this, whatever it may be, was your purpose. Charlie was talented. He was so capable of moving others, romancing his reader and guiding them on a journey, but even one person was enough. If he could make one person cry, one person laugh, one person feel, wouldn’t that be enough? It only takes one person to make a difference and she knew in time, he’d say exactly what was on his mind. He just needed to take a moment to breathe. Just breathe. If there was anyone that Poppy believed in, it was him.

“I love you, Charlie.”

Marinating on her words, Charlie was reminded once again why he loved Poppy. Why he chose her to give his heart to. No matter how dark the cloud that hung permanently over his head was, she always found a way to be his sunshine. “I love you too Pops.” He had said those words a thousand times before and would a hundred thousand times again. Three little words which lose meaning for a lot of people but not Charlie. He meant it the first time he said it at a party freshman year and he meant it now, in their marital home. “And ma’am?” He rolled over with Penelope in his arms, resting himself on top of her and kissing her nose. “Quoting Hemingway to me? Mrs. Decker, are you trying to seduce me?”

Penelope gently smiled. She radiated warmth and joy. She couldn’t believe this was her life and he wanted her. Everyday he wanted her. If she could stay like this, in space and time, in their own little bubble she would. This was their world and from the day he confessed to her to tomorrow, they would continue to write their love story. They would never stop writing their love story. Even after they died, and their children have children who have children, their love would live on. They were soulmates after all and that would never change. “When am I not…” she whispered, bringing her hand to his face, running her fingers across his cheek until they met with his lips. She traced his mouth, staring at it but not going in for a kiss. “…trying to seduce you?” she teasingly purred, before making eye contact once more, her lips slightly parting. Her body relaxed from under him as she silently yearned for his touch, hopelessly devoted to him. Always.

Charlie’s hand slowly unbuttoned the long shirt of his that she wore so much better than he did as he lost himself in those heavenly green eyes of hers. As his fingers explored her now bare torso, his wanting gaze fixated on his Penelope, Charlie took the opportunity of her lips parting to meet her in a deep kiss. Drinking in her love with his tongue, allowing it to fill his heart up, the writer could not hide both his desire and worship of his pale Goddess. The sun kissed her alabaster skin and made her glow in a way that was beyond comprehension, like the angel that she was. As the breath left his body and their souls sanded together, Charlie stopped for a moment to look at Poppy’s face once more.

“I love you so much.”

Unreserved fire and passion bottled inside her, Penelope strained against his body, leaving no room between them. Her delicate hands and legs wrapped around her lover as she pressed her forehead against his. She craved to be touched and to touch. She craved to be wanted and feel needed. She craved Charlie and she wouldn’t stop craving him because she knew, since the beginning of time, she was his and he was her’s.

They were meant to be.

“I know,” she breathed.

Ernest Hemingway had said: Show the readers everything, tell them nothing. Penelope believed that could be said with love too. Hearing him say those words meant everything and more to her but she wanted to show him his love would never be in vain. The only thing that would take her away from him was death itself so while they lived each day in togetherness, creating memories after memories until they couldn’t anymore, she would show him so much love it would overwhelm him, overflowing in his soul to the point that he was addicted. She would give him enough reason to never let go. She would be the one that grounded him when the chaos of his mind became too much. She would stay and wait for him. She would be his constant. As long as they had each other, that’s all that mattered. He loved her and that was more than enough to make her the happiest girl alive.

With her heart beating fast as if this were their first time, she insistently kissed him, letting the intensity gradually grow as she clung to the person that was her world. All she could do was breathe him in like he was the oxygen that kept her going. She was floating in this feeling as he drove her mad. She hoped he knew how crazy she was about him. How mad they were together. There should be no doubt in his mind that Penelope loved him and that she was completely and utterly his.

She hoped he knew that.

That she was his and he was deserving of her.

Charlie Decker deserved to be happy.

Edenridge

_{Timestamp: Tuesday Evening
FT: Sylvester James & Victoria James
As well as: Colin Brady @metanoia}

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“You let her do what?!” Victoria James was heaving, her hands holding herself up as she stood hovering over her desk at her little thrift store. She didn’t know if she was hearing correctly but her husband, the apple of her eye, and love of her life, permitted their living daughter to stay at a place that they knew nothing about not for just one night but for two nights. This night specifically, her friends were coming back and she was not. “Are you fucking stupid, Sylvester?” What made him think this was a good idea? In what world would this make any sense when their other daughter was murdered when she strayed too far from the nest, at the Boston Convention Center.

“Please, Vicky, breathe and let me explain,” Sly cautiously took a step forward, glad that all her employees had left already for the day and he was just making sure she ate something. Still in his uniform, with exhaustion written all over him, the strong, muscular man known on the streets as Rocky approached a woman growing more and more unhinged, the more these letters stirred something in this town. Dear David was no exception. “Baby, Penelope is improving. There’s more color in her face. I can see her eating. She’s not wearing a mask anymore. She’s—”

Her nails dug into her wooden desk, where there were already numerous scratch marks from her and her fluctuating mental health. Her episodes. She grabbed a glass mug off her desk and flung it to the man who was midway in the room, encroaching her personal bubble. The officer ducked and let the mug hit against the door, shattering, shards flying every which way. “Do you think I give a fuck about that? How does any of that matter when someone wants her dead?!”

“No one wants her dead. Victoria, please, sit down,” Sly held his hands up, beckoning his wife to halt and not let her paranoia overtake her. A lot of times it felt like a losing battle especially since he couldn’t force her to take her meds.

“Bullshit, bullshit, BULLSHIT!” The unstable woman slid her arms on her desk, forcing everything on the floor. “Someone MURDERED our daughter and you’re letting our other one stay with STRANGERS? I don’t give a shit if they’re connected to Charlie and she’s trying to heal or whatever the fuck. That doesn’t change that this hellish town seems to be crying about a boy that drank too much and drowned because he was fucking dumb and NO ONE is talking about Maxine.”

There it was.

The cause.

Closing his eyes, Sly tried to center himself and pace his breathing as he listened to his wife cause wreckage in her office. He let the wave of pain wash over him and through him, waiting for this to pass. He knew this would pass. It always did. At least that was what he told himself everytime he had to calm her down.

“My BABY didn’t commit SUICIDE! And you’re still working for the assholes who blamed you for her decision to off herself. Someone fucked with the reports, you know someone did and yet you’re still working for those bastards! Protecting people who would sob over a privileged white boy’s ass instead of a girl who worked her ass off for this town. THIS IS ALL SO FUCKING STUPID!” By the time she was holding a lamp, Sly was in front of her. She swung it at him and quickly, he forcibly grabbed it from her and pinned his wife against the wall.

Taking the lamp out of her hand, he put it down, never releasing her or giving her much wiggle room, before wrapping his arms around her, letting her spike of anger turn into guilt, remorse, and uncontainable sadness. He made sure to hold her in a way that she couldn’t move much, knowing if given the chance she would try to reach for his gun. “You don’t think I’ve been trying? I know it’s been years but if we bring that shit in the streets it’s going to escalate. We have enough shit happening already. This burden, it’s my burden to carry and I’m going to fix it. I don’t know how, but I’m going to figure it out. I just need you to please, for Christ’s sake, take your meds.”

Her face soaked, his uniform wet from her tears, and her soul drowning, Vicky glanced up at him but didn’t say anything. Her eyes were distant as she looked at the man she married. A decision she made a long time ago to protect herself and there were times, she wondered, what if she didn’t choose him. What if she ran away. Would she be alive? Happy? Or would she be drugged up and dead somewhere?

“We need to trust that Penelope can take care of herself. She doesn’t deserve to be afraid to live life. I didn’t raise a little girl afraid to walk out of the fence. No, I raised a fighter, you raised a clever smartass. Not an idiot who will let someone take advantage of her. She has the best of the both of us, she’s going to be okay. You are going to be okay. And these letters,” Sly scanned her demeanor and expression, her body growing limp in his arms. He helped her to her seat and backed away. “I’m on it. Do you think I like that someone has Charlie’s journal? Fuck no, Victoria. And if that means I have to work double shifts to get to the bottom of this, I will.”

Turning her chair to her desk, she grabbed the one thing that didn’t fall off from her rage. A picture of her and her family. Her crazed eyes weakened as she got lost in Max’s smile. “Charlie dying was kind of cathartic don’t you think?”

“What…?” Sly was taken aback by the words coming out of his wife’s mouth.

“He broke my Penelope’s heart and was killed by you. What goes around, comes around,” Vicky chuckled to herself, gliding the back of her pointer finger on Max’s face. “Not just for Charlie, I mean, but for you too.” She knew that day haunted her husband’s mind, just like the happy person he used to be, especially the moment he shot someone that was like a son to him. She knew he deserved it. To live with that guilt. That pain. The memories. “It’s almost as if it was fated.”

“You did teach Penelope how to use a gun, and she taught him. Funny how that works.” She gazed up at him, with the eyes of a serpent girl who no longer saw the light. A girl who was never given a chance to live a life she wanted, always thinking of ways to protect herself and survive. A girl stuck in the past, unable to keep her head above water, pulling a good man down with her. She was drowning and she wanted him to drown too.

Ever since Rusty died, he lost his touch and she thought she could build him up, but he let this town assimilate him to the environment, following the way of the world like clockwork, the American dream, losing his strength along the way. “Maxine died because of you. Ronan died because of you. James and Charlie because of you. You’re no protector, Sylvester. If you think that, you’re just like your brothers who believed they were defending the Constitution and our country from all the big bads. Please. Maybe it’s time to take matters into my own hands.”

It was an understatement how badly Vicky had wounded the man that tried to stand everyday to support her, his daughter and this town. She knew what he was doing but as much as he wanted to sit and feel this stab wound, he couldn’t. He needed to take care of her. “Let me take you home. I’ll get this cleaned up. Please, baby.”

Putting the photo down, Vicky opened one of her desk’s drawers and put a couple of pills in her mouth, swallowing it without water. “I’m medicated now. Yes I ate dinner. Specifically chicken parm from Palermo. You can go now.”

“I don’t think I should leave you…” Sly hesitated, worried she was going to do something else that needed his intervention.

“You will leave me be or I’ll call your friends saying my husband hurt me. You know better than anyone that I’m not afraid to bleed and we know they’ll believe me over you. People always do. We’ll talk later, when I’m ready. Go now.” Shooing her husband away once more, Vicky returned to the picture, her dark gaze never leaving Max’s hopeful, youthful eyes and bright smile.

She missed her baby.

~

~

As it neared the end of Colin Brady’s shift, having wrapped the last bit of paperwork for the day, he was driving down Main Street. Earlier he dropped off what he picked up from Beau’s at the house. His wife and kids weren’t home, so he left a note for them. He had texted Marlie just a few minutes before he left the station, saying he was on his way home. He made sure to put an emphasis that he wanted to talk to her about something.

The last couple times they’ve attempted to talk, it went nowhere and if it did go somewhere, it wasn’t anything of substance. Or just became another argument to add to the list. Today would be different. Colin would be different. Antoine’s advice helped him see clearly and though he was exhausted from work, he wasn’t going to use it as an excuse again. Marlie deserved better and it was about time he was showing that.

Colin was pulling up on Well Loved Wonders. He saw Sly sitting on a bench just a few yards left of the shop. Initially, he wasn’t going to stop because he really wanted to hurry home. Maybe beat Marlie home so he could surprise her, but as he slowed down to just greet Sly, Colin’s perceptive eye caught onto something almost immediately and that prompted him to park. Turning his truck off, the dark-haired detective joined Sly on the bench. ”Been a long day, Sly. Chief has given me enough paperwork to seriously consider an early retirement. My pension will be crap, but just look at these hands--” Colin flashed his calloused hands and the little scrapes on them. “I’m gonna need Marlie’s good lotion to save this tragedy.”

Sly hadn’t expected company but he wasn’t going to refuse it either. Pushing himself off from leaning on his knees, he straightened himself and tried his best to hide the fact that his right hand knuckles were bleeding from punching a dent into the postal mailbox. Smiling at the remark of his wife’s lotion, Sly mused, “Does she have the kind that relieves stress? Because boy, I could use some.”

Tapping his finger on his leg, the bruised knuckle hand, making eye contact with his fellow comrade, Officer James continued, “I’m about to head back and do my own paperwork. I’ll probably be there all night. With Clay out, I’m a bit behind. It is what it is though. What’cha goin’ to do?”

“We can send the stacks of paper to his room at Sinclair Health while we go home and relax?” It was a jest but Colin had a stone-faced expression. After a half of a moment of silence, he laughed. It lingered between the two men for a few more seconds. Colin was facing forward but turned his head partially to look at Sly. “You’ll be good, Sly. You’re strong, but if you need anyone to help lighten the load, hope you know we have your six. Always.” Subtlety was never Colin’s forte. Sly had to know what he meant without saying it. Being brothers in blue, there was this unwritten rule that Colin always believed in: even if life doesn’t, your brothers always got your 6. Colin believed that ever since he first became a cop back in Phoenix and continued to believe in that very philosophy when he joined Eden’s police force.

Years it’s been since Sly had people he considered brothers. Once Rusty passed away and both Rooster and Reaper went through their own heartbreaks, while battling their personal demons along the way, they fell off. They all fell off. Rooster became exactly what he hated the most. Reaper vanished and a stranger came back to take his place. Barely recognizable. Not the man Sly grew up with. And Rocky, he never changed. He stood at his post and took the hits as they came but he never left. He never changed. He became a fixture in this town, where something was always happening to force change. Force men to adapt or get left behind.

Well, that wasn’t completely true seeing how he did change a bad habit of his. Drinking was a bad habit of his. Now he traded one problem with another, obsessively working around the clock to make a difference. Problem is everyone in this town was finding a fixer and a healer in someone, especially with the men in blue. Not once did they look inward and think, this person deserves to be seen at face value. People weren’t fixer uppers like cars or a house. You take men as is. Broken, damaged, and living by a code so they don’t give into the part of them that was absolutely fed up with everything. The part of them they weren’t proud about.

Sly knew, in time, he could meet his breaking point. He carried a lot of weight on his shoulders and secrets from the dead that were tearing away at his heart, making him question what the hell was the point of all this and why did he bother. Sly knew, in time, a hit would come for him so hard, he won’t be able to pick himself up. Not like how he always could. He was a punching bag absorbing pain, grief and trauma and still finding the energy to get out of bed every morning. Sly knew, in time, he would be the one that needed to be lifted up, led to a calming glade, to rest and take in the fresh air, told finally, by someone, it was okay to rest. It was okay to breathe. It was okay to drop the armor and not be strong. It was okay to not be okay.

That time was not right now.

“Nah, I won’t relax at home,” Sly sighed out of his nose before turning to his coworker and chuckling, “Haven’t you heard I have a whole little family living there and it isn’t my own.” There was no malice in his tone. Actually it was quite the opposite. To have his home filled with laughter and smiles or just be lively again definitely helped him get through his days. It was his offer anyway, since there was no way he would let Mordechai live in small apartments with his lady friend and children. Plus, by doing that, he felt an extra push to finally start fixing up his other place and maybe officially move to the other side of the train tracks. Sage would love to hear her family’s home being brought back to life and no longer a ghost story. He just needed time to do so. His job left little room for leisure time. “Thanks, though, for checking up. If I’m being honest, Colin, I wouldn’t even know where to start. I’ve never been good at talking about myself unless it’s a story from my Rocky days trying to get kids to see beyond that life. Even now, I’m here with you, someone I’ve worked with for years, and I’m searching for words to say.”

“You know, technically, you’re saying words to me right now.” Colin let out a chuckle that came deep the depths of his gut, something Colin was known for. When he wasn’t burying himself in paperwork and actually allowed himself to live a bit, Colin was a lighthearted individual. “But I know what you mean. You don’t need to say anything, Sly if you aren’t feeling up to it.” There were days where talking and opening up felt counterproductive and Colin could understand that mindset. Having been there himself too many times, Colin understood it more than anyone. And there were days where he’d feel tempted to hit the bottle just once to silence the demons in his head and those were the days when he really didn’t want to talk.

A day like today. A day when he went to a place that he knew he’d get unsolicited advice and he was grateful for Antoine in that sense.

“You hungry, Sly? Because I’m starving.” With a completely change of topic, Colin knew what needed to happen. Sly needed to get away from that mindset. If there was one thing Colin could take away from his father and the rarity he had good advice, it was when a friend of yours was down and out, treat them to some food. Food always solved most of life’s problems. “Been craving some insanely cheap and delicious tacos. Westbrook’s got the best in town. Let me treat you to some. And if you feel like talking, you can thank me for treating you to some bitchin tacos.”

Sly smiled at that. He realized over the course of years, yes he considered his colleagues family but not in the same sense he considered those he grew up with as family. He separated his worlds, not wanting them to collide and cause a big mess for him to clean up. When he went to work parties and the like, he gave his regards and had a good time, cracking jokes and giving advice, but not once did he try to build bridges with the other officers, detectives and civilian staff members. Work and personal life were a rare combination for him. Never mixed to avoid disaster. Maybe it was time to change that mindset and take Colin’s offer at face value. His colleague wanted to see if he was okay and he cared more about his coworkers than Sly expected. Giving the other man a chance, Officer James shrugged and stood up, “I could eat.”

Taking out his keys, he unlocked his vehicle which was right behind the bench they were sitting at. “Your family okay with this? I don’t have dinner plans, but do know if you got somewhere to be, you got somewhere to be. I can handle dinner alone. I’m a big boy.” Sly humored, knowing more often than not he ate alone at the office. He wasn’t one to impose and family was far more important than some sad cop going through marital issues.

“The kids are practically adults now. Marco texted me about an hour ago, saying he’ll be at swerve until closing. Said something about needing to decompress because Lollipop did it again. What it is, I don’t know, but Marco has always been my little mystery. Emil is, in his own words, ‘kicking it with my bro’. And Marcy, she’s probably somewhere being her own person.” Colin couldn’t shut up about his kids. He was so proud of them all. Mostly Marco because just a month ago, he wasn’t sure Marco would break out of the shell Decker forced him into. God helped him find his way. “As for my strong, lovely wife, she doesn’t get off close to seven, so you’re stuck with me for the next hour or so.”

He reached into his pocket, his keys in hand and twirled it between his fingers. “You know the street, right? Basically where all the food trucks linger. See ya there, Sly!”

“I’d say race you there but we’re above that life,” Sly bid his brother in arms adieu and went in his car. He sat there watching the other man walk to his truck and drive off. Taking a couple moments to breathe in and out, he prepared himself to try to talk. Or just eat.

He was fucking hungry.

Edenridge

_{TIMESTAMP: After Always With You
Featuring: Penelope James & Forrest Proudstar
TW: Mentions of self harm}

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In the Silverheel barn, which was weathered over the tide of time, up a flight of stairs, no door to separate the ground level from the second floor, Penelope sat on a maroon couch, wrapped in a mustard blanket. Almost all the furniture in this small hayloft had a previous life, similar to the items that could be found in her mother’s shop, Well Loved Wonders. The soul of the barn kept safe the memories of good times and a blessing that spanned generations.

As Dirty Harry played in the background, Forrest sitting beside her quietly, respectfully using his own blanket, Poppy’s green eyes explored his room. From the bookshelf filled with cooking and recipe books to the bed with the handmade solid wood frame, she could see a little glimpse of his personality even if it wasn’t much. Seeing his room made her realize how much more she had in comparison to him and that he likely used most of his money for his business on wheels.

Penelope appreciated his willingness to watch something from her little box of memories and hoped next time he would choose something from his. One would say Dirty Harry was just an extension of Eastwood’s basic screen character. Clint Eastwood was good at playing the productive tough guy with a quiet demeanor and a bottled-up capacity for violence. What makes this film intriguing is Police Inspector Harry Callahan understood his legal responsibility and duties as a police officer, and the Bill of Rights, and yet followed his own code. His own code which led to his actions of taking retribution into his own hands, becoming what we all know as ‘the bad cop’. To catch a criminal, a man needs to think like one.

To change society, a man must become exactly what they fear…

For a moment, she could see parts of Charlie and hear his voice and the awful things he said to her when he was taking a turn for the worse. How the world was a filthy, hopeless place and that there was just so much pain, he would be doing it a favor by making it all go away. At the time, she didn’t realize how lost he was and that his compass, his code, was buried by hate and self loathing. He became unreachable and refused to let anyone be there for him. When the thoughts reached her chest, causing it to painfully ache, she desperately grabbed Forrest’s hand and held him tight, grasping for something present as she redirected her mind to someone else.

That someone else being her English professor, now boss at Cafe Rochambeau. Mr. Beau. He would go on and on about ‘a man’s got to have a code.’ He had explained to the class that without a hard code, that we refuse to break, our beliefs are at the mercy of external forces. Without a code, our belief system loses its value. A code couldn’t be something easily manipulated, like being a good person. Being a good person can justify vastly different behaviors. A code was more like unbreakable rules that set you on the path to being good, or bad, depending on your choice. Without a code, a man would be lost, creating cognitive dissonance. They went against their beliefs because they broke their code. She knew by the time she could reach Charlie, by the time he was willing to give her a chance again, he had already broken his code and lost himself. She couldn’t find him and that fucking sucked.

“Resi…” Penelope whispered, as the movie was coming to an end. “What keeps you from breaking? How are you so strong?” Her glossy eyes glimmered in the dark, with the TV light on his desk shining on their faces. “Sorry, completely random I know,” she apologized and released his hand, loosening the blanket around her so that she could hug her knees. “I know you go to the place that reminds you what not to become but that’s got to be tough, right? That’s got to be hard…”

That was a very loaded question and Forrest really didn’t know where it came from considering how they were watching Clint Eastwood’s magnum opus. The squeeze of Poppy’s hand on his had filled him with butterflies and made it extremely difficult for him to think of a straight answer for her. “Hm.” He mused, filling the air with a hum to mask his thoughts. “I mean yeah it’s hard and some days, I can’t bring myself to go there. You know? I close my eyes and I see things that I wish I didn’t. I’m not as strong as you think. I have a lot of help.”

Resi shifted a little closer to the ghost girl on the other side of the couch and rested his arm on its back. “Like my aunt Jadyn, Creator bless her, she might be a bit of a wild child but she gave everything to us kids. Mitena has always been my rock. She’s my best friend. Whenever it got to me, the dark thoughts, Tena just knew you know? She’d come up those stairs and she’d always just….I don’t know, you know. She just found a way of being there for me.”

His eyes drifted to the open barn window that overlooked the rolling field of Silverheel. “When I would get home from working a shitty job, covered in dirt, aching all over and questioning why I even bothered to suck air, I would look out of that window and I would see Illara playing or dancing or she’d be running from the main house to greet me. I would see the little smile on her face and that gave me all the strength I could ever need. She’s the reason I carried on. She’s the reason I’m here. I have to take care of my baby sister and give her the life she deserves.”

“So you live for family,” Penelope uttered in response, resting her head on her knees. She sat in the silence, thinking of those she had that were still alive, who would be devastated to see her go. She remembered the first year of grief after the shooting she would try to use shards from mirrors to cut herself. Her father had to remove all mirrors like they were in a supernatural fiction story and mirrors were a portal to another world.

She wondered what was keeping her here, why did she keep fighting? It certainly wasn’t her family, seeing how she thought her friends wanted nothing to do with her, her mother can’t seem to let go of Maxine's memory, and her dad… was a weathered down rock, who needed saving too. She wondered why, after all this time, after losing someone she considered her world, she still was fighting for air. Fighting to breathe.

Maybe, the answer was simple.

Maybe she was simply abiding by her code. Her code to never give up, no matter how hard things got. No matter how lost and empty she felt. No matter the circumstances. Do not give up. She didn’t break mirrors to kill herself. She broke them because she hated seeing her face. She hated looking at herself. She wanted to cut not because it could kill her but because those scars would remind her that she was still very much alive.

Mentally, she was probably a basket case now that she thought about it. Losing Charlie made her go absolute batshit crazy. She was so dependent on someone else, on his love, his validation, and his happiness, that she lost her identity and because of that, when she looked in the mirror she saw no one. She was nothing without Charlie Decker.

Now, little by little, she was becoming someone. She was finding herself, outside of her family, outside of her friends, and outside of her love for Charlie. Little by little, she was becoming Poppy. Releasing her hold on her legs, she adjusted her body, where she sat on her knees and her legs laid to one side, facing the opposite direction of Resi. She leaned into him for support and looked up, gazing into his eyes, “No more sad talk, let’s play… the question game. I’ll start. In five years, where do you see your life? Career wise, family wise, whatever you feel comfortable with sharing.”

It was amazing how swiftly Resi felt he had become close to Poppy James. The way she leaned into him was reminiscent of someone who had been in his life for years rather than a matter of twenty four hours. She had integrated herself seamlessly into his life as if she had always been there and it was something that he didn’t want to change. The more time he spent with the offcomer, the more Resi found himself completely and utterly enamored with her. “The hopeful answer is maybe I’ll be chefing in a five star establishment, likely a sous chef since I won’t get to be a head until I’ve like, seriously got my feet under the table. I’ll be watching Illy go from strength to strength, hopefully I’d have met a girl that would want to be with me and the truck would be my side gig for the weekends. For fun, you know?” Without really thinking, Forrest wrapped his arm around Pops and held her close in his embrace. “The honest answer is I’ll likely still be sweating my ass off in that deathtrap, giving food away to those that don’t have but deserve everything.”

“And if that’s the case, at least you love what you’re doing,” Penelope smiled at him and leaned her head against his chest, not even thinking how odd it must be to be this comfortable with someone. To those she surrounded herself with, personal boundaries were rarely a thing and Resi was no exception. She wasn’t even thinking about it really. All she was thinking about was keeping her mind out of her own dark place and focusing on her friend, learning as much as she could for the time they had left together.

“Though, if you need a little cheerleader to push you to achieve greatness, I can be that for you. I know some things like opportunity require luck but that doesn’t mean you can’t aim for it. And hey, you’ll have little ol’ me trying to keep your spirits up.” Poppy giggled, amused at her own words and at the thought of her wearing a Clover uniform, attempting to do one of their routines. She would never be caught dead in a cheer uniform but she did like rooting for her friends and their happinesses. Little Cheerleader Poppy. “Okay,” she patted his chest, “Your turn. Ask me a question.”

Resi had to shake out the image of Penelope in a cheerleaders outfit from his mind's eye before responding to her. He couldn’t deny his attraction to the pale girl but he also knew that there was a fragility to her. He could see that beneath the surface of her body of glass there was a heart made of iron, pumping petrol and gas into her veins and igniting the fire that was Poppy James. He had already made the decision that he would ask her out when the time was right; it was only a matter of time.

“Okay.” He was debating how deep to go with his question. Having had the debrief from Mitena about her misadventures with the Edenridge offcomers, he knew bringing up his cousin Charlie would definitely be a taboo subject yet Forrest couldn’t deny his curiosity, they were family after all. “Why did you decide to stay here tonight? With me? Being a stranger in a strange land can’t be easy. Why put yourself through it?”

“Hm,” Poppy James looked at her hand that rested on his chest. Why did she stay? It was clear that the reservation was doing wonders to her. In less than twenty four hours she’s made more progress than she’s ever made in the past two years. In less than twenty four hours she could eat a little more, she could smile a little bigger, and she could breathe a little better. The weight of the town, of Charlie’s crimes, was not on her shoulders here. She still had her ptsd, and she still struggled with letting him go, but here, on this spiritual land, she felt a sense of belonging, like she was meant to be here. “I guess I don’t feel like a stranger. Even if my friends, like Mordechai, have been here before, even if my parents did what they could to keep me protected and not stray too far, I feel more myself here than I’ve ever felt in a long time.” She closed her eyes and listened to Forrest’s breathing. His heartbeat. “I feel seen, I guess. I don’t know how to explain it.”

Silence filled the room as she realized she didn’t fully answer his question. That answered why she wanted to stay here but not why with him. Was it weird that she felt this comfortable with a stranger? Opening her eyes, she let her hand trail down to his and rested her smaller one on top of his bigger one, looking at their size difference. She was always so tiny and frail in comparison to others. His hands were a little rough, a clear sign of someone who worked with his hands everyday, but she also saw a tenderness to them. Someone who put love and care in everything he created and everything he did. “I like you, Resi. I’m unsure of the why and how, but I like being near you. You’ve been extremely honest to me and it’s like we’ve been friends all our lives. I feel safe when I’m with you so that’s likely part of the reason why I wanted to stay here. I wanted to be with you.”

Oblivious to how romantic she was sounding, Poppy laid her heart out for a boy she just met but wasn’t thinking about anything beyond the moment they shared together. Most people would sweat saying something like this. It was practically a confession but for Poppy she didn’t see it as one. She saw it as her way of being true to herself and saying exactly what was on her mind. Right now, in her mind, all the grief, all the trauma, and all the tragedy was shelved like a book, and she was sitting by a fireplace with a boy she felt a strong connection to. He warmed her and comforted her. She hoped she provided something for him too.

How could he not be swooning from those words? At that moment, staring into Penelope’s big green eyes, Forrest knew that he wanted to kiss her. Yet he got the sense from her that she may not be so massively experienced in the area of romance as others their age. He had to quickly mull over what the best thing to do was in this situation before the moment passed them by and they were left asking themselves what if. “I really like you Poppy.” Resi began. “I like you being here with me.”

Rather than rush, the young cook took his time. With his free hand, he gently brushed a loose chestnut hair from Penelope’s face and tucked it behind her ear. He could feel himself becoming untethered, floating into the emerald forests in her eyes where he would become lost. He cupped her small chin and leaned down to bring his lips to hers gently. He lingered for a brief time before backing away and allowing her the space to process what had just happened. The butterflies in his gut had turned into a murder of crows flying wildly together through a storm of chaos.

Forrest really wanted to kiss her again.

“I don’t….so….” He sighed through his nose as he tried to find the words to say. Forrest had been in relationships before, he had been through meaningless hook-ups and everything in between. He understood that whatever was connecting him and Pops was different, at least in his mind and he hoped, prayed to the Creator and spirits that he hadn’t misread her and that he hadn’t just ruined every right. “Was that ok?”

In that gesture, Penelope started noticing other things she hadn’t before. His breath she could feel on her now kissed pink cheeks. It remained steady even if his brown eyes betrayed him, showing how worried and lost in the moment he was with her. His hold around her was firm. It wasn’t tight to the point that it felt crushing but it did show signs of desire, need and want. She noticed how natural her frame fit in his arms, as if this was something they’ve done before. Her own breathing had picked up, something she had clearly disconnected with before he kissed her, before his soft lips touched hers... was her breathing always this obvious?

Poppy placed her hand on the back of his neck, letting her fingers feel the many strands of hair, curling one around her pointer finger. There was so much curiosity and desperate yearning in her green eyes. Her delicate smile and deep blushing of the face was far more telling than anything she could say right now. Vulnerable and trembling from anxiety, a little worried she was too out of her element, Poppy’s gaze, tender and full of love, continued to pull him in, whether she was aware of it or not. She felt like she could see his soul and he could see her’s. In the silence, she felt seen. She felt needed and adored. She felt wanted.

What she was feeling couldn’t really be put into words. All she knew was she didn’t want it to stop. All she knew was her impulses wanted to keep going, and her thoughts were clouded by a feverish dream. All she knew was she was starting to see a new beginning and that new beginning started with Forrest. “I’d like to do that again, Resi,” she whispered, as she stared longingly into his dark gaze.

The elation when Forrest heard those words. He didn’t want to ruin whatever was happening between them but it seemed that Penelope was on the same wavelength as him. “I can arrange that.” He whispered back as he cupped her face and followed her command. Resi gently pulled the ghost girl's face to his and their mouths crashed together in a loving embrace. With their lips dancing slowly together, Forrest guided her body closer, which was easy as Poppy was as light as a feather or perhaps she just didn’t feel that way because he was so absolutely, utterly lost in her.

As he led, Penelope followed, moving in tandem with his lips and his body. The warmth radiating from him and his hot lips only made her lean into him more, until she had turned and found herself laying on top of him, unsure if she pushed him down or if he turned himself and let her thin frame adjust in his embrace like a puzzle piece. Taking little sips of breaths, Poppy opened her eyes to see his glinting with the reflected moon, deeply staring at her. Her heart beated out of control as she held onto his head. She clung to him, having not realized how desperate she wanted intimacy. How lonely she was until now.

Pulling away to catch her breath, Poppy stroked Resi’s cheek. She proceeded to run her hand through his hair and gave his handsome face a closer look. The sounds that could be heard in the barn were only that of their breathing. Disrupting the quiet with her feathery and silvery voice, Poppy stated, “I come with a lot of issues, Forrest… and I still have a long way to go.” Biting her bottom lip, she revealed, afraid he was signing up for something he would regret later on, “I can’t promise you I’ll be the easiest person to deal with. And there’s days I get very sad and very mad. And everything in between. I want you in my life, there’s no doubt about that. But I also don’t want my grief to ruin this. I just… I don’t know... This is all very new to me and I don’t want this feeling to go away. I want to explore it. I just need help, I guess? I don’t know what I’m saying.”

Resi had to break himself away from staring at Poppy biting her lip so that he could focus on what she was saying to him and the importance of those words. He traced lines over the small piece of exposed back that her sundress allowed as he directed his smile into her big green eyes. “It’s all very new to me too.” Forrest would argue that despite their different definitions of new that they would be on the same wavelength.

The young cook had been in relationships previously, he had hooked up with people and it seemed clear that his and Poppy’s experience levels were far different. Yet when he said it was new, for him, he meant the feeling that was growing in his chest, this indescribable feeling that the ghost girl caused inside of him. “We can go as fast or as slow as you want.” Forrest gently brushed the back of her hair with his hand. “I wasn’t expecting you, you came out of nowhere and now we’re here. And I guess now the next step we take is together, be it a small or a big one.”

“…so we’re together?” Penelope asked, a little in disbelief even after they kissed. “You want to be with me?” She had only met Resi yesterday and yet, here they were on his couch kissing like they’ve done it their whole lives. She didn’t want to get too carried away in the moment because what if that pushed him away? She didn’t know if she should be cautious or throw caution to the wind and chase this feeling. Chase this feeling that she was too scared to run after before. Chase this feeling straight to a door that led to so many unknowns but could mean something wonderful was waiting for her on the other side. Chase this feeling straight into a loving embrace where she was wanted and loved. Where she was someone’s choice not regret or burden. Where she was someone’s hearth and home. Where she was simply someone’s.

“I know what I’d like.” She softly said, wanting to kiss him again and be with him. She wanted more days with him and when she’d leave the Reservation, she knew she’d be waiting with bated breath for his next text, his next call and his next visit. Her heart hadn’t fluttered like this in years and now she had someone she wanted to learn and grow with. She had someone she wanted to stand next to, during her hardships, during his, and all the possible good that comes with their journey, together. Keeping Charlie’s memory on the back burner, not letting the feeling of betrayal ruin this for her, she traced her fingers on Resi’s features. Focused on him and no one else. She smiled at this boy, not too long ago a stranger, who was winning her over as fast as lightning and she knew it was only a matter of time where she’d try to catch it and keep her lighting in a bottle close to her heart. She wanted to be with him.

As he held the small woman in his calloused workers hands and listened to her words, Resi could feel the duality that was Penelope James. In his hands, she was fragile, delicate but that was just her body: inside she was tough, harder than stone and had suffered more than anyone that young should. He wasn’t sure what future awaited them, he tried his best not to think about what was to come but more on what already was. In that moment shared together in the barn, they were present and together and if Forrest had his way, they would be for much much longer.

He watched the cogs turn between woodland greens as she likely pursued her feelings down the labyrinth of her mind. They had only known each other a short time and they lived in different towns. Could distance temper wild hearts? Not if Resi had anything to say about it. He was willing to do the work and he hoped that she would too. There was something special between them and they owed it to the past selves, the ones that ached from trauma, to chase happiness. “What would you like, Poppy?”

Anxiety sat in her throat when he asked her that question. Rather than answer him immediately, she gave him a little peck on the lips before brushing her nose against his. Poppy let his question sit a little longer as she wondered if this would lead to more pain or not. She shouldn’t think of all that. That was part of her problem. She waited on others before ever considering her own wants and needs. Before ever jumping. If she wanted this, she needed to commit and not look back. She needed to make a choice for herself and no one else. She needed to live. “I would like us to date and see where that takes us. I want to be with you. I don’t want to lose my chance and wonder what could’ve been. I will admit, I’m a little nervous. But that doesn’t deny the fact that I’m really into you and I want to keep kissing you.”

“I’m really into you and I want to keep kissing you too.” Forrest held his ghost girl tight as he sat up with her in his arms, her legs falling to his waist. “And I want to explore this feeling with you. So I guess we’re dating now.” His grin was wide and cheeky, all bright teeth framed by his dark tanned skin. “I guess if we’re dating I should probably teach you more about this indigenous thing we call kissing.” His thumb drifted lightly across her thick lips as his other hand softly cupped her alabaster face. “We’ve got all the time in the world.”

“I’d like to think I’m a good student,” Penelope smirked, glancing down at his chest and then back up, from under her lashes. “So tell me, teacher,” she played along. “What’s next on the lesson plan?”

Edenridge

_{TIMESTAMP: Tuesday Afternoon || After Smile Riot Gremlins
Featuring: Marco Brady-Castillo, Nadine Navarro, Eloise Anderson, & Amity Lyon
Introducing: Brielle Blake & Neal Blake}

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As the Smile Riot Gremlins talked, a duo walked past them, one a blonde girl in a white sundress with silver-colored boots that came up just inches below her knee and a boy, who seemed a few years older than her that wore a clean-cut shirt and dark-colored jeans. They walked by the gremlins as the blonde said in a clear volume, “Here’s our booth.” She didn’t pay any mind to the Gremlins as they took the booth behind them.

“Brie, we can just get our food to go. I don’t even want to be here anyway--”

Brie shot her older brother a silencing glare as she took a seat, her back facing the Gremlin’s back. “Enough of that! You weren’t doing yourself any good stressing bout Mara being back. Damian is barely able to muster his brain cells for anything useful. I can’t let my other brother kill them away because you’re thinking about how you’ll make a second first impression on the woman of your dreams.” Brie let out a sigh, leaning back into the booth. Between Neal driving himself up a wall with worry and in turn, leading her to have to be the adult for both of them and the party this weekend, Brie was already juggling too much.

Neal shrugged. “Right because you aren’t already booked. Aren’t you helping with the party those Sinclair girls are throwing?”

There was a moment between the Blake siblings where both smirked at each other.

“I can’t help it if I’m in popular demand,” she said proudly, giving her brother a smug look. He rolled his eyes. “All us Clovers are pitching in in some regard. It's not just a party for everyone on Scott street. That would be too boring. Carrie, I think was originally going to make it a bit exclusive, but I threw the suggestion her way about it being for everyone. Anyone who likes to have fun, at least, so don’t worry you’re safe, Neal.”

Distracted and out of her mind, Lolly’s eyes followed the girl that passed them until they took a seat behind her and Marco. “Shut the fuck up everyone,” she growled at her friends, before quietly turning her body, hiding her head behind the other girl’s to eavesdrop. Closing her eyes, she took in the scent of something juicy, something orange, and maybe something flowery, like lilies. Whatever it was, it was hella’ fruity and sent shivers up her spine. She smelled delicious. It was intoxicating. She was also fucking gorgeous. Since when did Edenridge have models? Curiosity was filling her soul as she gently grabbed a strand of blonde hair. Nadine looked at Marco, her eyes widened to get her to stop before the other girl noticed.

Marco had his attention divided first between Lolly shushing the group and then to Nadie, who urged Marco to stop her. Stop her from doing what? He followed Nadie’s glance and had a mental facepalming moment when he saw the most gremlin gremlin of their group actually touching someone’s hair. Some blonde girl behind her. “_Lolly!” Marco nudged Lolly’s shoulder, keeping his tone as quiet and low as he could. “_{Stop that!}”

Amity wasn’t paying attention to any of this and had no idea that the people her crew were curious about were her cousins. The family tree was complicated but they were related since her brother was once married into the Blake family and her niece is someone she spends too much time with at the content house. Downing her whiskey sour, tuning out the noise, she continued to text her girls and share memes with them.

Instead of stopping it, like Marco had demanded, Lolly made it worse and climbed over him to get out of the booth. This was rewarded with her falling face first onto the floor. As her ass hung out, she grumbled, “I’m okay…” With a quick recovery time, she hopped up. At this point, Nadine was covering her face in embarrassment. When Lolly set her mind on something, there was no one who could stop her. Maybe Dallas but Dallas wasn’t here.

With reckless abandon, she strutted to the table and looked at the two strangers, with no fear, just complete audacity. “HEY!”

Rhett from the bar shouted, “ELOISE.”

“Hi…” She lowered her voice. “I’m here eating with my friends and I couldn’t help but overhear you want to fuck Amaranth Harding! The daughter of the hot rock goddess from the band East of Eden. Well guess what, buddy ol’ pal! My buddy, Marco,” she turned her gaze to the boy she was speaking of, gesturing for him to stand up and come hither. “Marcoooooooooo,” she beckoned, before making her pitch without telling the catch, “He’s like really tight with Kylee, her cousin and you know he could totally set you up. I’m just saying, it’s a good deal.”

All this had to be was an intervention to help Nadine out. That’s all it ever needed to be, but now, now Lolly was on the loose, unhinged and nobody could stop her when she was on a roll. As soon as his name was called out, Marco sighed and stood up from the booth, joining the chaotic gremlin at her side, waving to the Blakes with an almost defeated expression on his face.

“Oh, so when she said Marco…” Brie made a mental note. “Your mother is Marlena. I’ve gotten my hair done at Tresses plenty of times.” The blonde gave Marco a smile as she turned her attention to Eloise. Quite the interesting girl she was. Pretty, too.

“Yeah, that’s my ma,” Marco said simply.

Brie couldn’t deny that Eloise had a good offer. It would help Neal along in his anxiety and give him fewer things to stress over, but seeing as how she was the one acting on his behalf because, as she looked over at him, his face said it all. He was a bundle of nerves and she could tell the gears were turning. “So..Eloise was it? You make a strong case. I admit, you have my curiosity, but there’s gotta be more to it. Why would you help people you barely know? I know Marco only because his mother can’t stop gushing about how proud she is of her oldest--” It was at this point, in addition to his complicated expression, Marco was showing signs of embarrassment as his face went red. “Tell me why you’d go out of your way to help us?”

Flat out without any hesitation, Lolly declared, putting her hands on her hips like she was talking truths and nothing but truths, like a goddamn superhero, “Because you’re fucking hot and I want to go to this party you and your friends are throwing. It’s that easy, folks.”

Oh my god. At this point, Nadie was nudging Amity so she could get out of the booth. Taking her phone out of her hand, Nadie held it far away, which caused the Lyon girl to grimace.

“Heyyyyy, give it back,” the Fallen Scott Street princess complained as she laid her hand out.

Not one to pick a fight, Nadie did return it but not before telling her, kindly, to move. In time, the other girl did finally leave which allowed Nadie to join her friends, so Marco wasn’t suffering on his own from the hurricane that was Lolly.

Standing now, finally seeing her friends talking to her cousins, weird, Amity trailed behind Nadie and waved at them, “Sup Brie, sup Neal.”

“I’ve never been to a party since I was homeschooled so I think this is just what the doctor ordered! The one time I did visit my friends on campus, my friend got his head shot off so you know, it be like that sometimes.” Lolly rambled on, in full throttle.

“Oh my god…” Nadine whispered, realizing how inappropriate that was to say randomly. Someone desperately needed to help accumulate their friend to society. Worried, she scanned the two people she didn’t know hoping they weren’t made uncomfortable or weirded out by their socially inept friend.

“Okay, that’s enough from you,” Amity grabbed Lolly’s hand and pulled her back, forcing her to sit down and calm down. “Stay, I got it from here.” Going back to her cousins, she inquired, “Okay so I see you’ve met Lolly, what’s going on now?”

Brie wasn’t the kind of girl to be stunned speechless. She actually prided herself to a degree that not a lot phased her. She prided herself in having thick skin. The curse of being beautiful and popular was that everyone had their petty, insecure jealousy of her being in the position she found herself in within both her friend group and her social standing among her peers, yet in a matter of moments from one girl she had never met until now, Brielle Blake had no words. She kept a neutral expression on her face (something she couldn’t say her brother had in response), but internally, she just…didn’t have any instant response.

“A riveting friend you have, cousin.” Brie finally spoke. By this point, Marco sat back with Lolly, if not to keep her at bay while the Blakes and Amie talked. She was still reeling from the bombshell Eloise dropped, but Brie collected herself in an efficient manner. She wouldn’t be the supreme if she couldn’t manage pressure and surprises of any given situation. “I guess the best way to explain it is Neal here has a little wittle crush--”

“It is not! I just really like her and want to make sure I don’t look stupid--”

“Like I said: A crush. He’s down bad for Amaranth Harding. Has been for years. He screwed up his first impression. Or at least he wasn’t ready for it and now that she’s back in town, he’s aiming to make a second first impression. That’s when your friend pitched this idea of using Marco to ask Kylee Grimm to talk to her on his behalf?” She hummed thoughtfully, trying to think back and make sure that was all, but at the same time, Brie was skeptical. As much as she gave her older brother a hard time about it, she didn’t want to risk his chances on something that might not even be full-proof.

“I don’t need you guys to do anything on my behalf! I can do this. I just need to make sure it’s perfect. Everything needs to be perfect this time around.” Neal was in his head again, the variables churning through his mind like a complicated puzzle that stressed him out just processing how to go about attempting to solve it.

“Well before you go overthinking, how did you mess up?” Amity raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms and surveying the situation to see if her friends needed to intervene. “Have you ever thought it was all in your head that you messed up? If you want to be friends with someone shouldn’t you just be yourself?” Before she let Neal respond, she addressed Brie, her niece’s best friend and chuckled, “Let’s be real, the only reason why she threw Marco under the bus is because she likes you. Girl is honest to a fault so she says what’s on her mind. And right now, you are.”

She wasn’t the only one.

Brie didn’t know much about her, but there was one thing she did know to be an absolute fact: she wanted to know more about Eloise. She was an interesting girl. So very much her own person. In the short time she had to digest Eloise and process the hurricane she seemed to be, Brie became intrigued. That bombshell she dropped about her friend was shocking and, she could admit that she didn’t know how to respond at the moment, but that was only because she was caught off-guard.

Taking it upon herself, almost disregarding her cousin and always-in-deep-thought older brother (who was pondering away about what Amity said) for a moment, Brie mirrored what Eloise did earlier and wedged her head between a seated Marco and the brunette, resting her head on her folded arms. “Hey~” Brie gave Eloise a smile, almost working some charm into it. “The party’s this Saturday. You all should come too! Anyone can come by as long as you’re not some creepy stalker weirdo.” Brie gave all at the table a glance. “You just look like normal weirdos that could be fun to hang with.” Brie turned her eyes on Eloise again, reaching into her purse, pulling out a small heart-shaped notepad, writing something down on it quickly, and folded it twice. “Here, Eloise. Figured you might need to contact me about the party and everything related to it. Or if you ever wanted to hang out during the week. I live on my phone -” She leaned closer to Eloise, whispering “— _{like my tech-savvy cousin over there}—” She subtly gestured behind her to where Amity was, giggling at her cousin’s expense.

“Well I live at my house usually playing games on my computer,” Lolly grinned widely at the girl, snatching the paper from her and pocketing it. “I’m pretty sure Nadie got work and Marco has to see what his boyfriend is doing. But I’ll be there,” The Filipino girl affirmed, excited on her new adventure, actually looking forward to her next therapy session to tell Miss Shannon all about it. “Oh, and call me Lolly, please. It’s what all my friends call me.” She shifted herself to look at the girl who was watching her in intrigue, “OH! One last thing. Your fancy perfume smells really fruity and delicious. I like it a lot.”

Cocking a half-smirk, Brie mouthed a sound of “oh” as Lolly complimented her on her perfume. This was a first for her, which seemed to be happening quite frequently and in rapid succession with the Filipina girl she found quite interesting. “It is quite fancy, isn’t it?” She laughed, knowing full well if her oldest brother was here, he would make a comment about it. “It’s Dior Miss Dior Eau de Parfum. It’s my favorite. I love all the fruity sweetness aromas it has. I got it from One Spritz in Pinehurst. If you ever wanted to check it out for yourself, that is.”

“Never been! And I haven’t really left Edenridge before but I’ll definitely keep that in mind,” Lolly nodded, not really interested in fancy perfumes but if it was something Brie liked, she could at least check it out. “So party—”

Lolly’s phone began to ring. The caller? Her paranoid mother, Blessica, who never leaves the house, hoards everything and is afraid she’ll die the moment she walks outside the garden walls. Sighing to herself, Eloise apologized to the pretty girl who was gracious enough to invite her to a highschool party. “I gotta’ take this. But I’ll definitely see you there,” the small geek politely separated herself from the conversation to be present for her mother. Answering her phone, she spoke in Tagalog, which was the most commonly spoken native language of the Philippines and tried her best to not constantly look in Brie’s direction to check her out.

As Brie no doubt was feeling some kind of way about the departed Lolly, Neal had been in his thoughts. He kept as quiet as he could, but internally, his mind was running rampant, clinging to just about everything that Amity said. He ran back his first meet with Mara, what happened on his end, how catastrophic it was for him personally, and how it all went downhill because he felt like he messed up. Too intimidated by someone who was so clearly out of his league, yet maybe it wasn’t that she was out of his league. Maybe Amie was right. Maybe he psyched himself out of his own confidence and that in turn ruined any chances he had of making a first good impression. Maybe…all he needed to do was be confident in himself and not put too much pressure on himself and, like Amie said…again being right, just be himself.

“Guess I’ll have to catch her later then,” Brie remarked quietly. “Marco, be sure to talk to your friend for us. I think Neal is coming around…” Brie glanced back at her brother who gave a nod, feeling more comfortable about the idea. “You don’t have to do all the work for him but maybe your friend can help make it less painful for my brother. He’s stressing over it enough as it is.”

Marco sighed. How was he always finding himself in these kinds of situations? What started out as a simple family intervention to help Nadie turned into a whole different thing and now he’s somehow tasked with talking to Kylee, who he isn’t even that close with (thanks Lolly for that) and somehow he’s gotta sell the idea that she would do him this favor? “Sure. I’ll see what I can do.” Marco groaned, unable to separate the glaring similarities between his mother and Brie. It was frightening just how much they were like each other.

“Thanks! I’ll make sure to let your mom know how helpful and generous you are next time I go to her salon for my next hair appointment.” Brie blew Marco a kiss and a wink, and turned back around to face her brother, glancing at her cousin. “You’ve certainly surrounded yourself with some enthralling friends, Amie.”

“What can I say,” Amie gave a mischievous grin, alluding to more than she’d ever admit to her baby cousin, “I’m a people person and I know people. If you ever find yourself in need of company, we game every Wednesday night. Maybe, you’ll get to know a little bit more about a certain someone, seeing how that is her happy place. Online with friends. This is honestly a rare occurrence for her so call yourself lucky to have met Lolly in person.”

Brie wasn’t a stranger to gamers nor to the nerd culture as a whole. She would never admit it to anyone who could use it against her, but there were a few small things she enjoyed. A few indulgences that often made her feel somewhat at peace. She could play a mean game of Fortnite when it suited her and even dabbled in some Among Us, but she wouldn’t say she was hardcore like some people were. But maybe now that she had more of a reason than just the appeal she personally found in winding down after cheer practice or having to deal with not just her brothers, but as much as she loved him and how much he’s really stepped up for the family lately, her Uncle Nate was too much to handle some days, maybe now Brie would dive deeper. Because she couldn’t deny that Lolly and her friends intrigued her. The girl herself intrigued the golden-maned supreme.

“Wednesday night huh?” She smiled to herself, realizing she might need to invest in a makeshift set up to make sure this wasn’t going to be in vain. If there was one thing she could take away from Neal’s struggles and generally the Blake Family curse (as it were), first impressions were do or die. She knew she might need to dig into her savings a bit. Her mother started her off early with her own bank account. Her mother, who was an accountant, felt she needed to learn that responsibility early and up until now, Brie never had any reason to use any large quantities of her saved money.

Until now.